As a "private" tax preparer, aka CPA, I whole heartedly support the system that allows many taxpayers to file online at IRS. There are not enough CPAs to meet demand and anyone who qualifies to file direct at IRS does not need me. There is more than enough work for all of us. Most of us are not opposed to free filing at IRS.
Jennifer, our best friends are CPAs. Starting in late December, they go into stealth mode where they bury themselves inside their offices from early morning until late at night. And then after April 15th, they have to play catch-up with all of the business filings due at the end of April.
Excuse, my French, but what a fucked up system. Years ago, I asked what would help to even out the hours they spend filing invidicual and corporate tax returns. One of their suggestions was to have more than one filing deadline, e.g. 3/15, 6/15, 9/15, 12/15 for individuals and offset the corporate filings by a month from the individual filings.
Yesterday, Catherine Rampell of the WAPO reported that House Republicans want to reduce the IRS budget by an additional $2 billion.
"This week, House Republicans released a financial services appropriations bill that would slash the Internal Revenue Service’s fiscal 2025 funding by more than $2 billion, or about 18 percent from current levels. This is part of a much longer-term plan to sabotage the agency so it can’t collect taxes that are legally owed."
Since Covid-19 we have asked the IRS to do more with fewer resources. It's time this ends.
I agree. The Repubbies want to reduce the budget of the IRS at the behest of their multi-millionaire and billionaire money donors and giant corporations who want to continue cheating the country out of paying their fair share of taxes.
There's a through line here that Democrats can and should use: cheating. Republicans cheat on taxation. They cheat on voting rules. Cheat on redistricting, which allows them to cheat on representation. They cheated on the Supreme Court appointments of Gorsuch and Coney-Barrett. Their egregious and very public cheating corrupts Congress, the judiciary and, when they get the opportunity, the Executive. Three for three in the Federal government. And that doesn't even mention the states. And none of it is done in the interest of the majority of the American people.
President Biden has shown how the government can actually make the lives of ordinary Americans better, playing by rules that have the public interest of the actual public at heart. His campaign, and the campaigns down-ballot, should drive this point home. Framed this way, the campaign ads almost write themselves and should resonate with the majority of people, who have been on the giving end of policy give-and-take for too long.
Republicans have held disproportionate power for decades by ginning up populist outrage for issues that benefit the interests of the top sliver of Americans. It would be refreshing to see a campaign that creates populist outrage about policies that actually hurt the people.
This is a strategy that can turn Republicans' most powerful campaign weapon - the anger of the American people - against them. Imagine, a Democratic outrage machine, just like the Republicans', but based in truth.
but yu have to acknowledge that the democrats fiddle all the while that repugs were fighting to dismantle the Federal Institutions????????????????? WTF. But so glad Biden has half heartly worked to change all this corruption but why in the hell did they not replace the head of the Department of Justice??????????? BUT I WILL VOTE BLUE NO MATTER WHAT AND SURE WISH THEY WOULD GET THERE ACT TOGETHER And make sure they nurse qualified individuals to run against repubs in all levels of governments both federal and states.
Julie, I don't have to acknowledge that the Dems only fiddle. They are working like crazy to fight the Crazy from the Republican side while keeping true to their values. I don't want a Trump- like Democrat being a dictator like tfg is promising to be.
The Supreme Court example I gave above is a good first concept for a commercial. The Republican Senate couldn't vote on Garland eight months before the election and before any votes were cast, but rammed through Coney-Barrett's nomination eight days before the 2020 election. Legal, but clearly cheating.
The effects of these two nominations could scroll up the screen, starting with Dobbs and the gutting of the Voting Rights Act, and continuing through whatever horrors the Court visits on us before the end of June. The list of lost rights and reduced freedoms should resonate with just about anyone who cares for the will of the majority and the impartiality of the judicial process.
Fade to the hashtag #cheaters, then fade to black.
Mobiguy, you are right about the kind of campaign Democrats must run. Maybe asking something like "how do you like being cheated? What are you getting from a candidate, the Republican _____ who is OK with cheating you by giving all kinds of tax breaks to the very rich, leaving you to hold the bag of paying for the critical services we need while letting the very rich get away with cheating, lying, and stealing from the people? There are candidates who do actually care about you and what you need and they are not Republicans.
When Reagan took office in 1981 the federal debt was less than $1 trillion and conservative Republicans promoted no deficits. But Reagan began the war on the Middle Class with "Trickle Down Economics" and started the massive tax breaks for the wealthy (1986 Tax Reform Act.) The national debt under Reagan tripled. Every Republican administration since then has added to the national debt, Trump with a record $8.2 trillion in just four years. What we have done to succeeding generations, piling unconscionable debt onto their backs, is scandalous.
And yet you see conservatives blaming the national debt on things like "entitlements" and investments in education, infrastructure, etc. They act like they are SO concerned about government spending... but that's not the real culprit!
They wrote the conceptual framework for the Reagan years. I should have been more precise. Reagan’s policies were Heritage Foundation policies … Reagan himself, like Trump, was a tool.
TL After the continuing Republican castration of the IRS, I saw that IRS agents only examine 1.1% of the tax returns on individuals reporting more than $1,000,000 income annually.
That means that wealthy scofflaws have nearly a 99% chance of not being obliged to pay their legal taxes. I suspect that the same is true for large corporations with very complicated tax submissions.
At 90 I have never been audited. My tax accountant says that’s because I pay too much in taxes. Should I now be tempted [though far short of the millionaire category] to play the 99% no audit sweepstakes?
It is amazing how many people have never paid a dime in income tax. I saw that many times when I was an auditor. I believe audits in Indiana have been reduced since I retired in 2014. Of course Indiana is Repubican ran! It is bright red! We have a lot of uneducated people especially in government! Now sports is another issue....they know their sports! Early this morning I read on Facebook someone post that Biden is a liar and has milked the system for years. I wonder where they got that information!
France has staggered filings based on geographic region as well. And an online filing system. There is only one tax prep software that I’ve heard of so far and most everyone uses the official system
The deliberately antiquated system that is the tax filing steamroller is almost laughably unimportant compared to the inability of citizens, individual or in large majority blocs, to direct HOW their taxes are spent.
@ Gary Loft: In order to accomplish that goal, people must do their due diligence and research the positions of their favored candidates for office. It requires a bit of work, discipline and a certain amount of time.
Unfortunately Americans have somewhat of a reputation for being lazy voters--or even not bothering to vote. And again, Republicans are doing their best to make sure voting is more difficult. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that Republicans are once again lobbying to restrict the vote to male property owners--just like in those hazily misremembered "good ol' days".
Simple message- ask what policies they like and which party supports those. Can guarantee that the majority of people have no idea kind of like Obamacare versus the ACA. hate Obamacare, but love the ACA.
Yes...and nothing makes me sadder than to have witnessed, during the five decades of my adult life, the dumbing down of the American electorate, by a combination of poor coverage by the media and the deliberate starving of educational funding by the Repubbies.
TL The dumbing down of the electorate over my 90 years has been even worse. I once had a college student write that the three branches of government were CBS, NBC, and ABC.
I remember when news was news rather than entertainment. I haven’t watched a TV/cable ‘news show’ for over three years.
Some of my best analysis of America today comes from The Guardian and The Economist. The Week I enjoy for its cartoons AND its reporting on both sides of issues, domestically and globally.
Some of what I read in the NYT and the WP doesn’t pass my smell test for balanced accuracy. For example, they hammer Biden on age, while he is in excellent physical shape. Meanwhile, Trump demonstrates his incoherence every time he opens his mouth.
His flabbiness is highlighted when he rolls his golf cart on to the putting green. His hair is a masterpiece of chemicals and his pallor reflects what he might have been exposed to in Vietnam, if he hadn’t faked bone spurs—Agent Orange.
Unfortunately there are just far too many extremely ignorant people in this country, they do not realize that Republican policies have been harming them for decades and Democratic policies have been helping them.
Yes, Bern. That's because of Gerrymandering. Accountability is hampered.
I look at taxes as I do at my 401-K. I pay up front for future benefits. Taxes are for my society and investments are for my financial future.
On top of that, I'm willing to have some of my tax dollars spent on issues I don't care about in exchange for getting some of my priorities funded. Aren't you? Or is it your way or the highway?
I am a democrat, in a democratic system. Thus I am totally comfortable with not getting much of anything that I want. No perfect system (no perfect anything).
That said, in a perfect world, every citizen would get to direct their appropriately computed taxes to any one or more of the citizenry-agreed-upon programs of government. Every department head could make the argument for their program and its projects – a 'marketplace of ideas'. And a cohort of appointed citizens could make their argument for something different, something better, within the previously agreed upon mandates and goals of that department.
I'd also add a reserve or contingency fund to cover unknown unknowns.
The key to all this is that the vote takes place one year before the fiscal year it gets implemented, so agencies have some chance to prepare their workplans. This is another reason for a contingency fund, 'cause ya never know...
This will never happen but I keep banging this drum about once a year.
The best you can do is to target charitable contributions. Here's a paper I wrote for lawyers.
December 01, 2011 FINANCIAL PLANNING
Social Security—Maybe Charity Should Begin at Home
By Daniel F. Solomon
For most of its history, Social Security was a terrific bargain: our parents and grandparents most probably received significantly more benefits than they paid into the Social Security Trust Fund. The trust fund comprises the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Funds (OASDI, collectively).
In most cases, because our family units could rely on these benefits, they were able to enjoy enough financial independence to send people like us to school so that we could become lawyers—productive and, in some cases, wealthy, members of society. For 75 years, the Social Security Trust Fund has helped enable American soci- ety to achieve far beyond the aspirations of its founders, ultimately providing more than subsistence to retirees by also protecting widows, orphans, and disabled people. The dignity provided to needy beneficiaries surely far outweighs the economic value of the funds.
However, financial experts have long predicted a future insolvency of the funds. A majority of Americans have invested in the funds, recognize their social utility, and do not want to burden their heirs. Although there have been legislative attempts to “fix” the system, there is no consensus how to do it. The Congressional Research Service reported:
For example, for workers who earned average wages and retired in 1980 at age 65, it took 2.8 years to recover the value of the retirement portion of the combined employee and employer shares of their Social Security taxes plus interest. For their counterparts who retired at age 65 in 2002, it will take 16.9 years. For those retiring in 2020, it will take 20.9 years.
Geoffrey Kollmann and Dawn Nuschler, “Social Security Reform” (October 2002).
The National Commission on Social Security Reform (informally known as the “Greenspan Commission” after its chairman) was appointed by the Congress and President Ronald Reagan in 1981 in response to a short-term financing crisis that Social Security faced at that time. Estimates were that the OASI Trust Fund would run out of money possibly as early as August 1983. Congress rendered a compromise that extended the retirement age from 65 to 67, through a deal that raised payroll taxes and trimmed benefits enough to keep Social Security solvent. See Jackie Calmes, “Political Memo: The Bipartisan Panel: Did It Really Work?” New York Times, January 18, 2010. However, the legislation addressed only the immediate problem and did not address the long-term viability of the fund. See also Rudolph G. Penner, “The Greenspan Commission and the Social Security Reforms of 1983,” in Triumphs and Tragedies of the Modern Presidency, David Abshire, Editor. Washington: Center for the Study of the Presidency, pp. 129–31.
The George W. Bush administration commission deliberated on the issue and then called for a transition to a combination of a government-funded program and personal accounts (“individual” or “private accounts”) through partial privatization of the system.
President Barack Obama reportedly strongly opposes privatization or raising the retirement age but supports raising the cap on the payroll tax ($106,800 in 2009) to help fund the program. He has appointed a National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, which is to report and offer another fix.
Current estimates predict that payroll taxes will only cover 78% of the scheduled payout amounts after 2037. This declines to 75% by 2084. 2010 OASDI Trust- ees Report, Figure II.D2, www.ssa.gov/OACT/TR/2010/ trTOC.html.
Although the congressional plan was to ensure solvency through Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) tax, there is a private means to help: to also consider the humanitarian and charitable nature of the Social Security Administration (SSA), which has been possible since a legislative fix in 1972. Before then, bequests naming Social Security or a trust fund as a beneficiary could not be accepted, which caused problems in administration of some estates. Money gifts or bequests may be accepted for deposit by the managing trustee of the OASI and DI funds. Section 170(c)(l) of the Internal Revenue Code lists the U.S. government among the educational or charitable organizations to which donations are acceptable. Gifts must be unconditional, except that the donor may designate to which fund the gift should be donated. If no fund is designated, the gift is credited to the OASI Trust Fund.
However, SSA has not publicized its charitable persona. Although the agency has received some gifts and bequests, they have been insignificant and not given consideration in a possible fix. The concept has been so unimportant to the experts that the Annual Statistical Supplement to the Social Security Bulletin does not specify how much the administration has received in gifts and bequests. Total revenue from gifts to the trust funds has been quite small. From 1974 to 1979 the most received in any one year was $91,949.88. During that period, the average annual amount was only $39,847. In 1980, almost two-thirds of the gifts were less than $100. The median gift size was $50. One person, for example, donated $13.11. She arrived at that amount by applying 5.85% (the employee tax rate then in effect) to her benefit amount and donated it to help “‘shore up’ the sagging, dwindling Social Security fund.” However, the 2010 Social Security Trustees Report lists them as about $98,000 (www.ssa.gov/OACT/TR/2010/III_ cyoper.html#2). Compared to many other charities, this is a paltry amount.
Apparently, SSA has never done a feasibility study nor marketing research to determine how an aggressive campaign could raise funds to support Social Security, or how gifts and bequests could reduce the current estimates of impending doom. According to some estimates total deductions taken for all charities next year would be $413.5 billion. Estimates for fiscal year 2011 are that SSA will spend $730 billion. That amount is already covered through “contributions” (taxes), but it is reasonable that charitable contributions to the trust fund could significantly lessen taxpayer exposure for impending doom, if not return the fund to solvency.
As lawyers, we have the capacity to remind our families, our clients, and the public at large that there is a way to contribute to help endow future generations in the pursuit of the same kind of social stability that Social Security provided to our parents and grandparents.
Daniel F. Solomon is an administrative law judge at the U.S. Department of Labor, member of the ABA House of Delegates, past chair of the National Conference of Administrative Judiciary, Judicial Division, president of the Federal Administrative Law Judges Conference, and author of Breaking Up with Cuba (McFarland, 2011). All opinions expressed are those of the author and not any organization or group.
Gary, perhaps it might become illegal for a corporate advisory firm to assist in financial activities and also have a different unit of the same firm to prepare their income tax. An example would be Price Waterhouse that has been fined numerous times for pushing the vague boundaries.
Gary, maybe Democrats should be spending more time and effort telling people that the very rich want to cut the IRS so only poor or working-class people will be audited while the very rich continue to pay no or very little in taxes compared to everyone else. Saying the Republican IRS proposal is to keep those very rich from paying their taxes and making it harder for other people to get tax help might wake some people up to the Republican cheating which goes on regularly through their representatives. Why would Republicans want to vote for people who want to scam them while giving all kinds of breaks for the rich? We need all candidates to keep bringing this up and having pundits asking Republican interviewees why they are planning to cut the IRS budget? "What will you gain from doing that? Who are you representing, your constituents or the very rich who probably donate to your campaign?"
My dad worked for the IRS for over 30 years starting around 1958 until he retired around 1992 in Omaha, NE. He hated the lasted few years he was there, but enjoyed the first 20 or so. He had a degree in accounting he got in 1950 but had trouble getting a job in accounting partly because he was a disabled Vet. But it helped him get the job with the IRS. He was only offered one promotion in the time he was there but we would have had to move and my parents didn't want to because my mom was working full-time and she didn't want to get a new job. He was a GS-3 when he retired at 62 and was making a little over $13K at the time. Congress never has treated the IRS and it's employees worth a damn.
The disrespectful "not invented here" stigma is a bias instilled by design.
Failure to bring this court under some semblance of control to confirm that we live under governance by and for the people can tip the balance into holding a Constitutional Convention. That seems dangerous, and we are already closer to calling one than many realize.
A trait that seems to have served modern Japan well, besides careful preservation of their ancient cultural heritage, is awareness and learning from ideas from other nations.
Realize the first Convention was held shrouded in secrecy, thus kept from those who would be governed by it. This is a bit like the conditions under which the "Trans Pacific Trade Agreement" was being constructed, so the precedent of "the Founders" and practice of this character of "originalism" reveals pretty much how the ruling class of the 21st Century would orchestrate a rewrite. I doubt that the operatives of neither party would support ANY transparency in the process. The fact is that our country is now very different, thank goodness, from the vision of "the Founders" thanks to the fact that we have dismantled much, but not all, of the UNDEMOCRATIC process that "the Founders" championed. We risk loss of all the evolution toward a functional democracy that we have achieved in over two centuries.
That is an area of civic education that seriously needs attention — a constitutional convention could be the thing that brings down our form of government by fiat.
People think it means adjusting the constitution, but they don’t realize we could ditch the whole thing — or at least all the parts that THE PEOPLE depend on for our civic freedoms AND our civil rights.
True, a Constitutional Convention is fraught with danger; but, it could also fix one of the biggest and most undemocratic aspects that we have: the Electoral College and the system of how U.S. Senators are allocated. California has two U.S. Senators. About 16 states with extremely small populations each have two U.S. Senators, meaning California's population of 40 million has two while 22 states with a total comparable population have 44 U.S. Senators.
There is a majority of Republican House delegations and that decides what changes get advanced. Until Dems win more state delegations, our best plan is to stall any additional state legislatures voting for it, and to have some reverse a previous vote.
Yes! Too many think “exceptionalism” god-given. They should have felt the crosses at Normandy. A good look at many European countries might help. Time for ocean liners for everybody, maybe even tax-deductible trips abroad. It’s educational! Thank you, Carol for the “Dutch description.”
Everyone who likes the America we have must make themselves aware of and fight against a constitutional convention. This is the next stealthy thing the rightwing nuts in this country are cooking up. We need to win this election and then immediately start working hard on two things: keeping majorities in both houses of Congress, and spending real money, thought, and time in persuading state legislatures into voting against—and in some cases reversing votes—calling a convention.
There are already well thought out plans for this convention as to make the constitution unrecognizable. I know this all sounds a bit nutty, but it’s a real threat.
First step: propose a Constitutional amendment to (1) abolish the Electoral College and adopt the direct election of the President by national popular vote, and (2) trigger automatic redistricting at the state level if the percentage of representatives by party differs from the statewide popular vote by more than a specified margin.
Call it the "voice of the people" amendment, and question why one party comes out in opposition to something that so obviously increases the fairness of the electoral system.
We can hope the amendment would be ratified. But if it isn't, it should be great campaign fodder for the next election cycle(s).
Which is why it’s SO dangerous! Check out the people we have in this country trying to reinterpret the one we have — they’d make it illegal to BE a woman without a man to control her … OK, so that may be going too far, but it’s damned near what the Ultra Conservatives and the Fundamentalist Right Wing seems to want … They do seriously want to limit power and votes and prerogatives for anyone but the wealthy class, though. That is not exaggeration,
My bet is that the people will lose their Bill of Rights if the ruling class operatives of the parties are the writers of a revision, and they would fight without reservation to be those writers. After all, the original Constitution had no Bill of Rights and limited rights of access to voting. Those supporting the doctrine of "originalism," include appointed judges, and their supporters religiously worship that "ideal" along with deification of "the Founders."
Some Democrats call for one because they so badly want the Second Amendment completely gone. Such single issue myopia misses that we could lose all of the rest. Still, if corruption of SCOTUS and Congress is seen to be slowly taking all away and people see no other hope, the balance could be tipped to make for a very bad decision.
Looking at the map of states that have called for a convention, one might take note of who they are — Southern and Midwestern {and New Hampshire} states that want to turn back civil rights … Think about this, people.
I remember the process of the development of the Affordable Care Act when many did a deep dive into the health care systems of other developed nations. The resultant system is not perfect, but is way better than before. Especially with many self employed or part time it allows an option for health insurance that was not available before and the elimination of exclusions for pre-existing conditions is life saving for many. Now Biden's work to lower prescription drug costs should close an important gap in previous systems.
"The resultant system is not perfect, but is way better than before."
This, like any government program of massive scale, is arguably not as "efficient" as the private sector, but definitely more "effective" because it includes so many and excludes so few.
may I comment about what the private sector has become. One scam after another. The latest one being the Car warranty scam. The product review is proceeding to scam status. The greedflation rampant everywhere. Just a drop in the bucket. these I know well, of late…
If only more people were aware of the Biden Administration's work to lower the cost of prescription drugs... Yet another example of this administration's accomplishments for the American people. You're not going to hear about this on F*x.
EMPTY Greene...? Carol.., you did say "Exceptionally stupid.., didn't you? I'd agree, though she shares a dubious "perfect example" pinhead definition with sister Bo-baire, while encircled by so many others (Graham, Cruze, Nikki, Katie, Mace, Scott, Abbott, ad infinitum, all exhibiting an even more-sickening kind of ignorance and faux-grace (foie-gras?). In meager defense, not all working-class MAGAtts love eMpTy Greene, but they share her mentality. And those creeps would love the publicity such a "convention" would offer them. Big Media , can see the $$$ flowing it already. A billion time ten is a lot of money. Let's not get bought out.
It’s time we learned from other countries, many of whom have things to teach US. The first think I think of is public transportation. Hoping Secretary Buttigieg will bring US the TGV. Imagining it on the East Coast and across the country. Plenty of track. It just needs updating and some concrete ties. Only problem would be replenishing electricity during a 15 minute stop during long trips. Could Americans bear that for the speed and smoothness of the ride?
I have just spent a week touring Amsterdam and Haarlem. I was more likely to be hit by a bicycle than a car. Saw an old man biking along with a rolled up rug on his should. Parents have child compartments on the front of the bike for as many as three small children. Chairs everywhere are narrow. The Dutch are very tall, not wide. It’s the exercise.
"American exceptionalism" isn't. We're not exceptional. I'm sorry, but we're a teenager as far as countries go, with all the certainty that a teenager brings to their positions and opinions.
Ah, Ally, once while in Egypt, we were sitting in a tomb with our guide and he was reminding us how young we are. For him we were barely out of the womb.
I disagree with you. The US is by far the most diverse nation in the world. We are not perfect in blending that diversity, and far more often than not, we use our diversity to good advantage.
And for reasons I can’t fathom, over the past hundred years, we have shown an almost unique ability to rally many nations with us for a cause.
I think you're actually making my point; the enthusiasm of youth is able to "rally many nations with us for a cause". It's just that our history as a nation is so short, and we tend to think in absolutes rather than nuances.
"There are not enough CPAs to meet demand and anyone who qualifies to file direct at IRS does not need me. There is more than enough work for all of us. Most of us are not opposed to free filing at IRS."
You're not the group that is threatened ... the high volume / low margin stuff is where the serious money might decrease if the IRS offers a decent alternative - H&R Block and all that crowd.
As someone a bit upthread has mentioned, we've had a good self-service automated system in Australia for some years now ... and it gets improved each year. How hard is this? I guess the lobbyists totally rule DC, and have for centuries.
The politicians who hate taxes want to make it as difficult as possible for ordinary citizens without many deductions to file their taxes. Wealthier taxpayers get away with paying as little as possible and the Trump tax bill handed the very wealthy lots of tax cuts while sticking the less affluent taxpayers with the bills. There is no satisfying their greed and it’s killing our political system.
People sometimes forget scale. When the US finds another country doing something really well, there is often the far greater challenge of bringing even positive change to a country of 325 million from a country of 26 million. It’s hideously expensive, a management challenge to a vast degree, and that means greater risk of failure. Not saying we shouldn’t do it, but that is why people sometimes choose an incremental approach.
After using H&R Block once, and having to later pay penalties for that poorly done return I've tried to always use a certified CPA, and keep that person as a friend... for years. If people do their own,,, does the government check it for errors in favour of the filter???
Thank you, Jennifer. From the 1982 through the 2021 tax year I used EA (enrolled agents) exclusively for tax preparation. Since then I have sold all my property and given my car to my adult granddaughter. I filed my taxes with the new IRS system for 2023 and for the first time in forty years. I finally got a tax refund.
My daughter moved from FL to ME in 2023 and being a partial year resident in ME she didn't know how she needed to file--partial year resident vs. non-resident. Her ME employer withheld ME state income taxes so she needed to file in ME to get her refund.
She used Intuit and they charged her $59 twice because she needed some additional information and they made her start over. They would not issue a refund for one of the $59 charges.
I called the ME Dept. of Revenue and was told their hours for taxpayer "assistance" was 8:30 - noon 4 days a week. What a joke.
Anyway, even though the Federal return may be free, ME purposely makes it difficult to determine residency so they can nail summer people that stay more than 6 months during the year.
If they stay more than 6 months, shouldn’t they pay? I get that the lack of support nail’s them, but I infer that you mean paying their fair share is nailing them?
Yes, they should. Several years ago one of the state Senators admitted the rules were fuzzy so they could collect more income taxes from out of state people. Should that really be the role of government, especially when you have to sit on hold for long periods of time to get a clarification from someone that is just as confused about the rules as you are?
If the State of ME wants to collect more state income tax, they would lower to rate to 3% of your income and make the residency requirement to file in ME maybe four months instead of six. They should also make individuals that earn less than $35K/year not required to pay or file ME state income tax. The employers would still notify the State of ME like they do now so it would be easy to catch tax cheats.
That sounds good. Thanks for your thoughtful reply. Here in CT, people can spend enough time in Florida to avoid paying tax in CT but still come home to enjoy it in the best seasons. CT should change its laws to get its people to pay their share, too. The ones who cheat are the ones who can afford to pay; it’s so aggravating.
Gary, speaking of Maine, my sister was married to a man who worked in Maine, but they lived in NH, where she worked. ME taxed *her income* earned in NH as well as her former husband's. I never understood that.
I don't get it either. Nothing like double taxation.
I was raised in Omaha and the.same thing happened with Iowegians that worked in Omaha and lived in Council Bluffs. But that was back in the 1970's so it may be different now.
As a healthcare provider, I have always said the same thing about Medicare for all or a similar public option, and all of my clinician friends agree with me. We providers can still make a good living and most of us entered the field to help people, not to make a bundle of money. Boo hoo Clarence, how’s a person to get by on only $300k? I never made half that yearly amount in my very comfortable life.
Maureen, my (formerly doctor owned and managed) local clinic sold to United Healthcare (what a joke for a name) that is run by insurance companies. It is a shell of its former self. So many people get sucked into the Medicare "Advantage" programs that it just blows my mind. I'm with you; a national public option that is NOT in any way run or managed by insurance companies is a great option.
We were watching a movie last night where a Doctor was making a house call. That particular scene was from 1945. I'm not sure what it would take to get any doctor to make a house call today.
Years ago there was a story on NPR narrated by a man whose father was a small town doctor. He had no problems managing the office, billing, appointments etc. until health insurance came into the picture. He tried going cash only but so many of his patient had group insurance through there employer that he was forced into dealing with the claims.
Group health insurance changed everything and definitely not for the better..
It's yet another method for large companies to hold their employees hostage so they can't quit and start their own companies.
Maureen, if Medicare Advantage plans replace Medicare for all, you won’t make a living wage. A lot of Rural hospitals have folded because the fee structure for many Medicare Advantage plans pay so much less than Medicare does.
I’ve been on a soapbox decrying Medicare Advantage (i.e., private health insurance subsidized by the Federal Government, unfortunately) for years. Their apparently huge advertising budget has duped millions of seniors into accepting “skinny” healthcare coverage in exchange for slightly lower premiums and the promise of dental and vision reimbursement. But if they need an expensive treatment or medication, they are denied, or offered inferior, cheaper substitutes.
I'm so glad you said this, Jennifer. I have a friend who is a CPA and I haven't asked her yet how this was for her. I love the idea of "more than enough work;" may it always be so for you!
Clarence Thomas, who has, in effect, taken bribes and failed to recuse himself from cases related to the January 6th insurrection, which his wife openly supported, should be impeached and criminally charged. This is just the first step in restoring credibility and honor to the Supreme Court.
The degree to which our government tolerates corruption and unacceptable situational risks of corruption is resulting in, well, corruption.
Science knows that conflicts of interest can sometimes influence decisions unconsciously of even those who strive to be even handed (let alone those who evince no such effort).
JL, it totally chaps my ass that “public servants” would act thus! I was a public servant for 40+ years in the CA college system. My mantra to the folks I supervised was that the people of the state of CA were paying our wage and we owed it to them to do the best job possible, to not slack and to stay productively busy & do the best job possible. When I first started out I was just 18 and working in the student Fin Aid Office @ UCSB…it was summertime and, as the frontline “receptionist”, there was little foot/phone traffic. I was told in other offices in the “downtime” folks read books or even brought sewing in (!)….nope, could not do that. One day one of the staff came looking for me and I was not at my desk—it was somewhat remote from other workers—she called out to me and I answered from a supply closet located behind where I sat. She asked what I was doing & I said there is nothing to do, so I decided to clean out and tidy up the supply closet…she was a bit stunned that I would do that. I told her it didn’t feel right to me to just “sit” and not be productive whilst being paid. Much later, when I was a supervisor @ an Cal State Univ, I told staff working the front counter—they were chatting as it was a slow foot/phone traffic day—that I didn’t mind them chatting as long as they were also being productive and outlined a number of projects they could do while also carrying on a conversation—I was totally cool w/ them conversing, as long as they were also working. Unfortunately I also saw examples on campus of those who thought being a state employee was a cush “ride” and really slacked at their jobs….I did not approve! Anyone being in higher positions in state or Federal positions, to me, really requires a commitment to service, to perform the job your were hired or, especially, elected to do….in reality one should do their best in any job they take on if they are paid to do so. Don’t know if that’s “old school” or not these days, but I knew that early on. I am aghast as some of the shenanigans pulled by our public officials and can only think they are committing offenses that warrant termination, or at the very least negative evaluations with an “improvement plan” outlined to be their goal.
My 40 years of medical practice spanned a time from when pharmaceutical reps could fly docs to Disney, put us in a hotel and wine and dine us as they "educated" us on their latest and greatest new drugs. This moderated to occasional lunches then just branded pens and note pads. We eliminated drug rep visits and "free samples" by the time I retired. Some had the balls to ask "can I count of you for X number of new prescriptions?". I was always uncomfortable with the system and how it influenced our prescribing. The free samples were handy for people unable to afford their inhalers and insulin, but how screwed up is that? The "ask your doctor if this drug is right for you" ads still annoy me.
And as far a I'm aware it's still illegal everywhere but here and New Zealand. Did you wonder why pharma comoanies would advertise heavily to the public products we cannot buy? One reason of course is to create hypochondriacs, but I'm convinced the real reason is a bribe to media to not do investigative pieces on their business practices.
As someone who was in scientific sales for decades, I always found the pharma sales people pretty sleazy.
Thank you, Barbara, you are the epitome of what Civil Service is supposed to be. I also had a Civil Service job - only for 14 years. Most employees worked, there are always a few slackers.
JL, as a supervisor I always felt it was my job to help an employee do their best. If I saw troublesome activity (often had to do with challenging communications with students/parents on the phone/reception counter), I would take them aside (never in front of others) and make suggestions how to be more effective…in other words, deal with it ASAP. Then when it was time for formal evaluations nothing was a surprise & we could have a good conversation about their progress & discuss goals….and most folks did…good customer service is a learned skill…tho’ some more than others have the “gene” for it! There were a few folks who were not a good fit for the position and where possible I’d try to find another role that better matched their skills…sometimes it was even encouraging moves to other departments & was always pleased when they thrived with the move. Workers in my area were considered “entry level” (very much underestimating the skill it took make it look effortless!) and encouraged them (but was sad!) to, once they learned the ropes, apply for advancement. I was really lucky to work with a like-minded group of folks—the Director who hired me became an admired mentor to me and most others who worked there—who became like a family & now, even more than a decade after retirement, we still (those in the area) meet up several times a month. A real right livelihood.
"If my entire life were a feature film, how would I perform? If I did not have editing privileges, and if the audience was the entire world, how would I play my part? What would viewers of the film take away in their consideration of my performance?"
Gameing the system is a survival strategy that works, so there are those who do so in all walks of life. Some do it with teams of lawyers and lobbyists ans some on hourly wages. Often supervisors are the worst of the lot. Certainly part of the is a society that teaches that profit isn't everything, it the only thing. That's always been a thing, but it's grown more malignant in recent decades.
We are a social, cooperative species, and we have unrivaled powers to pass on what we learn to the next generation, not as a ridged template, but as awareness and behavior that grows with each generation. We collaborate is the present, and trade what we can do to get what we need. Freedom is not only a trait we develop within ourselves, it is an environment we improve with one another. I think we all have responsibilities for all of us, and in "public service", that's part of the job description, worthy of honor by those who fill the role, as well as by society as a whole.
It is and isn't. "Clean up the corrupting influence of big money in government" has not proved to be an appealing campaign issue, but in many ways that money has proved to be the one ring to rule them all, and resulted in presidents, congress and judiciary, that promotes de facto bribery and which sabotages service to the general welfare.
Yep. Simply too many very wealthy people who put themselves first. The system must be wrung out. But it will all likely come down around our heads first, unfortunately.
Yes. Write (or email) your Congress person. It can't be done this year, but if the articles of impeachment are written AND publicized this year it might sway some independent and undecided voters to support Democrats. Both Alito and Thomas should be first on the list for impeachment. BTW, 15 judges have been impeached, 8 convicted, 4 resigned before Senate trial and 3 exonerated. Only 3 Presidents, one twice, none convicted.
Both Thomas and Alito want to retire but can’t do so until they put DJT back in office so they can be replaced by younger versions of themselves. Watch the presidential immunity decision to come.
The parties can't argue for a SCOTUS retirement age of 75 when Democrats are running an 81 yr old and Republicans are nominating a 77 year old for president.
Fay makes a good point however, only one of the 15 judges impeached was a SCOTUS JUSTICE. Actually he (Abe Fortas) resigned to avoid the inevitable impeachment for his rather egregious behavior.
Not gloating, in any way, shape, or form. Just celebrating them. I regularly contribute money to Democrats running for senate in Tennessee. You deserve better!
Thank you so much! Check this out and keep up with us https://bluetennessee.org/. We are focused on state races but as I've pointed out to our group, Marsha and that dimwit Tim (not that Marsha's not) both "graduated" from the TN legislature.
There are two of us on here that are on the advisory board. If you'd like to join us, we'd love to have you. Thanks again.
“Blackburn is married to Chuck Blackburn.[6] They live in Brentwood, a suburb of Nashville in Williamson County,[29] and have two children.[6] She is a Presbyterian and a member of Christ Presbyterian Church.[33]”
I suspect Michael does not expect Justices Alito and Thomas to do this. By their openly rejecting calls for recusals, the Congress can then impeach and remove these men who have sullied the Court.
Problem being we have a corrupt and do nothing Congress. They cannot all be part of the fringe; however, the don’t have the personal courage to stand up for what is right.
I understand Senator Whitehouse, who has long commented on SCOTUS problems, was ready to hold the justices accountable but Sen Durbin, chair of the Judiciary Committee, won’t act. If true, this is problematic—except we know how diabolical McConnell is…
Life and the conditions that enable life is an incredibly complex system of balances, and concepts of balance are relied upon to regulate our system of governance so long as we can maintain a level playing field. Things start to slide in dangerous ways when we do not.
I expect them to do it because 1) they are held to a higher standard and given lifetime appointments for their unbiased ethical opinions(haha) and 2) because they need to follow their own code of ethics 3) because their conduct demeans all the other Justices and their own SC!
The Supreme Court did not even have a code of ethics until last November, when they instituted one in response to accusations of impropriety and corruption on the court. It is a toothless code: there is no mechanism for enforcement, and the justices themselves ensure their own compliance. That is hardly reassuring in the face of the blatant corruption we have witnessed from both Clarence and Alito. The code is also vague and full of loopholes.
"Clarence Thomas was a key vote on the Supreme Court. But as ProPublica reported in December 2023, Thomas complained in 2000 to a Republican member of Congress about the low salaries of Supreme Court justices (equivalent to about $300,000 today) and suggested he might resign."
P.S., ¿where is Senator Goldwater when we need him?
Actually, he is here in the form of Representative Cheney and Senator Romney. Senator Goldwater did not have to worry about being 'primaried' or drumpfed. Someone in this forum placed the responsibility of this mess upon the voters, at least those in the Trump base; (s)he hit the bull's eye on that one.
What happened to "checks and balances"? Equal Justice Under Law? Should be make it it "voluntary" for bank employees not to stuff their pockets from the till and leave it at that? If Thomas somehow was indicted, would he get to rule on his own trial? This is crazier than "Wonderland". "Recusal" means that ethical judges must sit it out, and the crooked ones don't??
Since they won't recuse themselves, why can't we get them out by having one day where the whole nation comes together and says they should quit. A national quit day for them!
And if Durbin won’t get it done, he needs to go! The corruption of Thomas and Alito is over the top and Durbin is derelict in his duties as he sits on his butt hoping it all goes away. Pathetic! Who is bribing Dick Durbin?
Having come of age during a period of credible SCOTUS performance, it has been troubling to me to realize that there is now a “for sale” sign on a portion of the court. The more I learn, the more troubled I become.
Thomas's philosophy is such that he need not be bribed other than to keep him from threatening to leave. He has never been more than a ditto for Scalia and Alito. His vote is a guaranteed anti-vote. He is against any idea that would help the poor and people of color. His philosophy is tortured rationalizations. He has said that he makes it on his merit and all other black Americans should also. He should have been impeached long ago. He was Bush Sr. appointee.
Yes and I must say, he did a crappy job. He and many other Senators were guilt-tripped by the race card and had been marinating in their own lifelong sexism: the combo crippled their thinking! Of course, Anita Hill was telling the truth.
I think the "criminally charged " bit is kind of ...well, exciting. What would be the charge?
I think we leave HW Bush off the NIST of miscreants too often. He gave us Clarence Thomas as well as the free trade thing Clinton signed. It was negotiated by HW.
Not just here, but everywhere: Arundhati Roy writes that the world's 500 billionaires have more wealth than 170 nations combined! She notes corporations move globally with impunity, extracting wealth and impoverishing the people, while governments stifle themselves with pretense. I praise Biden for his attempts to raise the ordinary person to dignity again. May he be victorious on Nov 5. If he (and we) can manage a clean sweep, Democrats will enforce old standards of taxing the wealthy.
Folks, I am editing this comment because it needs updating. The reality is significantly worse. Please see William Burke et al. below. Also, from today's Thom Hartmann substack: "The pay gap between CEOs and workers is growing. Most American CEOs make more in a day than their employees do in an entire year. What possibly justifies this kind of obscene compensation?"
Apparently, there is a quasi-religious belief in transactional dealings in which what I have belongs to me; what you have belongs to me, too. But yes, how can they?
What the wealthy have belongs to us, and what we have belongs to us. That's what a state is for, to work out the details of ownership. Ironically, both the rich and the communists dream of statelessness. And both of them end up fascists.
I’ve always wondered why folks who have more than they can ever use/spend/need feel the drive to obtain more more more…came across this Atlantic article…hmmm…maybe it’s the “affluenza virus”??
I think simple greed explains most of this. The Atlantic article was consistent with an article I read about 15 years ago wherein it mattered not whether a millionaire was worth 10 million or 5 million or 500 million. The millionaires uniformly felt that they had not quite arrived yet at being rich enough and that perhaps they would be content if they reached about, say, 15% more than they already had. It’s never enough for the greedy.
It’s never enough and it will never be enough. It is enabling their subversion of our government for their policies and is nothing more than legalized bribery.
Corporatism reflects economic policy and its role in politics. Religion is pure politics, or contra-politics, and was supposed to have been bannished from the state. We aren't there yet.
One could say they either have no self that is self-recognized to live with, or their self-valuing excludes the rest of the world, which is why they often end up doing each other in. How ridiculous. And completely unsustainable which tells me they have no foresight at all, wearing rich blinders...
Hope- “Arundhati Roy writes that the world's 500 billionaires…”
“As of April 2024, the United States had 813 billionaires, a record-breaking number. This is more than any other country, with China in second place with 473. The combined wealth of the US billionaires is estimated to be $5.7 trillion. “
Forbes also completely ignores the massive increase in poverty, homelessness and in income inequality, all of which pose threats to our political system,
When I was in a prominent MBA program in the 1970s we were being taught how to psyche consumers into buying products they didn’t want or need; how to avoid paying taxes; how to exploit workers and how to analyze cultures, identify their weaknesses and profit from their ignorance.
The professor for the International Business course gave me a F because I outlined some humane approaches in my essay for the final exam.
American capitalism may benefit a few but it certainly forces the many to struggle for a decent life. The corruption we live with today is breathtaking.
Thank you! As an aging person, I remember that astounding statistic from a while ago. I had no idea wealth had become that outrageous. Also, isn't Russia among them? Putin is reputedly the world's wealthiest man, but he slyly spreads his wealth in difficult-to-detect investments.
Don’t forget “The Firm” otherwise known as the British Royal Family. Consider the Commonwealth; just the land that it holds has an incalculable value and we won’t go into everything else the RF possesses. Because they’re our closest friends and allies, we can find ourselves overlooking them.
Senate Democrats, lead by the formidable Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse have been trying to vote to issue a subpoena of Harlan Crowe and Leonard Leo. Republicans lead by Sen. Lindsay Graham have responded by jamming the process with over 90 amendments including demands to subpoena Justice Sotomayor (concerning the promotion of a book she wrote.)
"The subpoenas, which would be sent to Crow and Leo, demand a list of all transportation and lodging provided to any justices and their relatives; occasions in which they provided entrance to any members-only clubs and all gifts or payments provided to any justice worth more than $415, which is the maximum value allowed for unreported gifts to judges and justices.
“In order to inform our legislative efforts to establish an effective code of conduct, Congress needs to understand the full scope of the court’s ethical crisis,” Durbin said in his opening remarks, before the vote was delayed. “This is the legislative purpose for all the committee’s inquiries in this matter, including the subpoena authorization I’m requesting today.”
Senator Whitehouse (D-R.I.) is a great legislator; would like to see him in the White House. 🗽This discussion comes from two years ago. ⚖️ When, I believe, Justice Jackson was nominated. 🤔 Sweeping indictment of the, as someone recently wrote, 'Extreme Court'. 🤢
I live in Japan and we can go to our local tax office where we can get free help to prepare and file our taxes. But in order to file my US taxes it costs me between $300 and $600 every year because it’s so complicated I can’t even begin to know where to start. And I’ve never even made enough income to ever have to pay any US taxes. But for 30+ years I’ve had to file my US tax returns. It would have been so nice if I could have saved that money instead. Even so those of us living abroad are threatened that we will be refused entry to the US if we haven’t filed our tax returns. At this point, I never intend to go back there again. I deeply envy Canadians and most other countries citizens who don’t have to pay their country’s tax if they live abroad. Only Americans are double taxed.
The corruption in America is nauseating. Can Biden and team convince the many brainwashed citizens to change the course of the country to benefit average Americans instead of the insatiably greedy billionaires?
G-D only knows if the messages can get through to the cognitive under-class -- a cohort that has many educated people in it -- but I am not optimistic.
I do like that phrase, Ned. I had thought (early in the fpotus's first term) that the cognitive dissonance that (I assumed) had to be in the minds of my former work cohort supporting a serial rapist and thief as President would be overwhelming. BUT: cognitive underclass certainly does explain that part.
Bit of a sidebar, but kinda on topic. The MAGAt reaction in the retired law enforcement cadre that makes up about a quarter of my social media connections to the deadly force admonition in the Merde a Lardo search warrant (present in every search warrant) was freaking stunning. These guys (most of them) all have written and executed search warrants. There are ALWAYS guidelines around use of force built in. There they were, trumpeting the "shoot on sight" carp they were fed by their "news sources", sounding like good little MAGAts. It illustrated to me that whatever the cognitive dissonance potential was, it was superseded by something; it can be described quite nicely by cognitive under-class.
Ally, as always, you make an incisive insight. The cognitive under-class is not about stupidity or ignorance per se; I hesitate making that kind of judgement against anyone. As you point out in your thinking, it is willful stupidity and ignorance by people, the (likely large) majority of whom know better. Senator Shady J.D. is top of that list.
Remember that it is a mathmatical fact that 50% of the population will always be below average in intelligence, I point that out not to disparage or discourage people but to remind everyone that presentating information in a simple, clear, and understandable manner will help people understand each other a bit better. Intelligence alone does not determine the ability of most people to understand facts and relationships.We all have to work hard to get the facts that underlie our opinions across to others.
Well said, clear even to his 'eminent brilliance' (i.e., me). 😉
EDIT: I always chuckle at the memory of reading about some poll that found that half of the Americas surveyed think they are in the top ten per cent of their country(wo)men in native intelligence. 😊
While I could not agree with you more, I would not hold your breath. By the way, I live in Japan too, and you're getting a bargain on the fees you pay to file your tax documents with the IRS. While Japan and the U.S. have a tax treaty that eliminates double taxation, the paperwork is so complicated that you have to be a tax accountant to figure it out.
Yes I do. We have a US France tax treaty so for the most part you are not taxed twice. I didn’t realize living in France though that my dividends from Vanguards international stock fund would not count as US based income. So u will have to pay French taxes on that which I can claim as a credit on the US side. It is complicated but if you look into it and learn well - chat GPT has been helpful. I got a full free hour of advice from the local tax office in person.
Yes, the filing deadline in Japan, for example, is March 15, and income tax is collected at the end of April. As others have noted, since the US has tax treaties with many countries, the chances of being double taxed are low. However, it costs extra money to have accountants help with the complicated calculations.
We have ever-so-slightly complicated tax filings (due to the way this country's system slices/dices forms and sources of 'income' for purposes of reducing the hit to those with the cash, and our tenuous grip within it) so we pay our nephew to take all the numbers and crunch 'em up but good. At the end of the day, we sleep easier because 1) job well done, and 2) we keep the expense within the family.
We have to report our assets and income from another country, but we are not double taxed on them. The taxes we pay in Italy are all that we pay on those funds. We don’t have very much money in that account, and maybe it’s different for the very wealthy. It doesn’t affect the amount of taxes we owe, but having our accountant fill out the form is expensive. So much so that we have considered closing our account, even though it’s useful when we’re visiting.
On the other hand, these rules have been in place for a long time, and were widely ignored until the US began requiring that foreign banks report US holdings to the IRS, including from Switzerland. I think I’m ok with that, with trying to limit people avoiding taxes by having secret foreign bank accounts.
Agreed! My spouse has dual Cdn/US citizenship and resides in Canada. Every year it costs her $600 to file US taxes. She neither lives nor works in the US so there is nothing payable. It’s a big un-necessary expense!
"Instead, they maintained that the best way to nurture the economy was to support the “supply side”: those at the top. '
It is unclear to me what those at the top are actually supplying. In any case, the real work is overwhelmingly done by labor, i.e., workers. And curiouser and curiouser, the "demand side" in primarily ordinary people who happen to be workers. Is there any possibility that "the supply side" and the demand side are in fact "We the People"? Yes, there are some talented and competent people who make a great deal of money because of it, but is the actual, personal productivity, not of a company but of it's CEO really as many times that of an ordinary worker that you might expect from their pay? Pre-Reagan , American products were admired around the world, yet CEOs, compared to average employees were paid far less. It sure looks like a con to me.
Whether supply or demand, whether stakeholder, management, or labor, every single penny of profit that flows upward was paid for by every single participant in the economy. Profits alone are the source of all tax dollars. It was and is the people's money from the start. Who is going to tell the people?
That’s because it is, and we don’t manufacture much anymore. Many of our products are not made to last, and we have had no right to fix them if they break.
Or are made to be irreparable. Apple has made it's equipment so that it will not work if repaired by anyone but Apple, even with official Apple parts. I have read in the press a least two articles that say that consumers cannot change batteries in a cell phone because then the phone would not be water resistant. BS. There is not a bit of truth in that. Better than recycle is repairable, upgradeable, and built to last. What is the cost to our environment to make even expensive appliances that are essentially designed to be thrown away?
The entire wealth of the nation, all of it, belongs to the people. The people decide how much is retained and by whom. That's why the Republican oligarchy is getting so desperate. They know they are thieves and they know we will eventually wise up, as FDR did.
Since the economic machine of the nation has shifted substantially away from "thing" and "service" production to "money" production, Labor (that is, traditional understandings of the people who do the work) has become less important. Because money production does not require near as much Labor per $trillion accrued. The soon to be perfect response of society, legislators and Il Corte di Tutti Corti is that fruits of Labor remain taxable, but fruits of pure (as the driven snow) moneymaking are not.
We get the government we deserve, as they say, but I do not remember signing up for the 'punch down, not up' program.
I distinguish between those who make money and those who control money (at this point I am one of the latter, living on investments in retirement, but my control is very limited). I distinguish between "job creators" and "job controllers". The most important group of "job creators" are the great mass of worker/consumers with money to spend, AKA "the market". People who hire to respond to that market, not as a hobby. (Thus giving wealthy people even more money proves not to create many jobs. It more likely goes into consolidating and "downsizing" staff, and creating monopolies.)
"Labor is prior to and independent of capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. Capital has its rights, which are as worthy of protection as any other rights. Nor is it denied that there is, and probably always will be, a relation between labor and capital producing mutual benefits. " - Lincoln
"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both” - Louis Brandeis
Random fact: Most of what I know about Arthur Laffer I learned in Rural Crime Abatement Training. He farmed palm trees in Rancho Santa Fe. People kept stealing them, then fencing them to some guy up the road in Bonsall. Big money in palms.
I have, for quite some time, used 🍊💩 for tfcf on my phone, because I can't stand to type his name. Now I can do it here! My seventh grade self thanks you
I was looking for my puke emoji. At least his first four kids will be just as heinous as he is. A pox on them all, and the women who love to love evil.
Well that is quite a report! Now President Biden can look into the camera on 27jun24 and say, "When you go to vote this autumn, please ask yourself: 'Am I better off now than I was four years ago?'"
🥳
That may not bring back the alienated Reagan Democrats, but with adroit messaging, President Biden may woo them away from Trump in favor of Bobby Kennedy.
⚖️
And onto Justice Thomas. Disliked him and felt he was unfit for the Supreme Court before the Anita Hill scandal broke. He has a weird relationship with power. Justice Thomas deemed COL Oliver North a patriotic American.
Or, after 4+ decades of Reaganomics, who is better off because of it? And who is not?
Economists estimate that between 1981 and 2021, more than $50 trillion dollars moved from the bottom 90% of Americans to the top 1%.
Were it only 5 trillion rather than ~50 flowing from our pockets to theirs, was that the deal people voted for Was it worth losing defined benefit pensions, massive job loss to off-shoring, indenturing college students, struggling school budgets, "Gig" employment, crumbling infrastructure, climate chaos, etc, and a less secure, and far less optimistic way of life on Main St. just to pay for the parties on Wall St.???
Under the snake-oil sales pitch was contempt for the difficult yet just democratic process, and the lie that those who accumulate the most wealth are naturally best equipped and best skilled to lead the nation. It's the augments from feudal aristocracy in modern dress.
Assuming our species would make it another 40, and I'm not entirely joking. we are quickly running out of wiggle room to act responsibly and effectively to blunt multiple threats of our own making.
Adroit messaging - do Dems even know there is such a thing. Doing a great job is fine, but propaganda spews the opposite message. Get louder or better Dems, or the great job Joe is doing will pass under the radar. mSM is currently useless…
Have a look at the way he's being presented on YouTube ("Jill Biden has to drag him away..." "Jill Biden seems to escort him away") (at Normandy). Nothing about his superb speech.
That amounts to America cutting off its nose to spite its face.
As an octogenarian, very aware of all those years in midlife when, nose to the grindstone, I could perceive our besetting problems but hadn't the free time to think them through, I feel personally insulted by the gross disrespect for the President.
So do I, and President Obama endured a great deal of racist meanness and insults from the public and Republican politicians. The Obamas behaved with much class and intelligence, even though it had to hurt them a great deal.
I can’t imagine how hard it was to suffer the nonsense from so many “lessers.” It made me realize what crap blacks have had to endure, well, forever. So weird since Africa is the origin from which all of our branches sprang; and we all are the descendants. Sort of like the child embarrassed by his uncool parents.
And they are still maligned although they outclass any Repub these days.
I have always been iffy on Netanyahu. Again, his coming to Congress without the invitation or presence of the sitting President -- as the G.O.P. did, worse, with President Obama -- is insulting.
Another compassionate, compelling, shattering point; bullies are not known for winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Lenin Peace Prize, yes; Nobel Peace Prize, no.
They should also remind people 4 years ago they were in a nation crippled by one of the worst responses to the Pandemic. US had one of the highest death rates and the economic recovery to the failed Trump response was the best in the world under Biden.
Wooing back white working class men is a losing strategy. The Democratic leadership needs to appreciate and appeal to the needs of their own party members. I’m presently reading Rachel Bitecofer’s “Hit ‘Em Where It Hurts” and would recommend it to the leadership and all members of the public. Dr. Bitecofer is a political scientist and professor whose advice works.
I agree. That is why President Biden would be well advised -- if possible and through anonymous surrogates -- to peel away those voters from Trump to Bobby Kennedy, Jr. Yes, he has enough 'Trumposis' in him to speak to angry paranoiacs. Yes, he has enough of his father in him to be a fundamentally decent and altruistic individual (who gives a hoot about working class people).
Thoughts and prayers have proven useless. Real action is needed. Hold your breath and with your finger held horizontally under your nose, press upwards, hard. Count to five, and repeat at first sign of onset.
The economic indicators such as wage growth versus inflation and unemployment figures are notable, important, and establish a foundation for a resilient and vibrant economy (as opposed to trading short-term results for long-term weakness and uncertainty). Supply-side or, more commonly, "Trickle-down economics" should not be characterized as a form of economics at all. It is truly a massive fraud perpetrated by the wealthy through their shills in the MAGA/GOP upon the majority of Americans.
While it is important to continue to share news, statistics, and indicators, I also worry that it makes people who have been struggling through multiple generations feel less understood. I think there's nuance and the indicators should be tempered with statements saying that this is positive, however it does not account for generations of Reagan/Bush/Trump/MAGA-fraudnomics.
When it is not carefully communicated, it creates more anger, frustration, and despair -making people more susceptible to the steady stream of lies, propaganda, and disinformation from MAGA/GOP, and their marketing staff at Fox 'News' and other outlets.
In the sentence "Over the past year, average hourly earnings have grown 4.1%, higher than the rate of inflation, which was 3.4% over the same period." While it is welcome and positive news, especially in light of post-COVID economic recovery, Putin's war criminal actions in Ukraine causing upward price pressure in the global energy market, and runaway greed as U.S. corporate executives exploit the opportunity provided in volatile markets in retail, Big Oil, groceries, and more, people struggling through multiple generations living paycheck to paycheck are unlikely to be inspired with a net year over year gain of 0.7%. And any increase in wages has, over the past few generations, been consumed by student loan debt (a legacy of Reagan and the GOP), the unabated rise in healthcare costs and the shift of healthcare insurance payments to employees, rising rents, and more.
So the rise in anger among the MAGA/GOP base is justified (as it is in other communities as well) -however, the investment in "Manufacturing Consent" in misdirecting anger has provided a tremendous return on investment for the obscenely wealthy -as people direct their anger, not against those responsible for the loss of upward mobility and opportunity in America -however, against those who continue to attempt to provide incremental relief.
There are also corporations who have decided greedflation is an appropriate practice, and we still have to start strongly reenforcing our antitrust and antimonopoly statutes. We have failed to do so for 40 years and it hits us in the wallet every day.
Indeed Kathy. I know that in previous LFAA's Heather has talked about the Biden/Harris Administration's work to go after monopolistic behavior. It's another arena where MAGA/GOP (and pre-MAGA/GOP) hypocrisy runs deep. They talk about the 'free market' (which doesn't exist) solving all societal problems -and yet take a complete hands-off approach when the competition (an important factor in balancing a so-called free market) is stifled through mergers, acquisitions, and industry collusion.
This is correct. “Free markets” exist in the imagination of true believers in unregulated capitalism. They don’t solve societal problems, they make them worse. They must be regulated so all can benefit. The free marketeers also forget that markets are a human creation and don’t exist in a state of nature.
Did you see the reporting that Biden did a very clever? Probably not, it was poorly covered.
It was a masterful manipulation of the crude oil markets, when he sold off a big chunk of the petroleum reserve when the Saudis told him to pound sand when he asked them to increase production to lower prices.
So he came home and flooded the market with several million barrels of crude.
It dropped world oil prices by a third, and he refilled the reserve with lower cost crude, earning the US half a billion dollars in the transaction. And letting the OPEC folks know if they gouge he can easily do it again.
George, You have done a brilliant job of largely explaining why a huge swath of people pretty much have given up on a promise and think that the easy promises of a dictator will alleviate their grievances. Were Democratic leadership to fail to adjust their rhetoric, as you have suggested, the odds, after November, of a continuation of the United States of America, in my view, could diminish. The foregoing notwithstanding, I would add, due to your comment, I expect my letters on this matter to have a better shot at exerting greater influence. Hence, I thank you for writing.
Thank you Barbara Jo. I think it continues to be important to understand the anger, frustration, and despair are real -just intentionally and strategically misdirected. When we don't acknowledge this growing wave -I think, behaviorally, we add to it.
George, I agree and would add that Democrats need to go where the trouble is in this country, trouble that Trump and his sycophants are stoking, and show, particularly those who doubt Democrats care about them, their readiness to work jointly to resolve legitimate grievances.
Trump‘s pennystock is still hovering around $46 a share. It’s considered a meme stock. The meme is that it lacks any real foundation in fundamentals with regard to value. The fact of the matter is that Trump has pulled it off again and made millions with yet another grift. The little people who invested in this stock (the cognitive underclass as Ned McDoodle so eloquently puts it) will ride it all the way to the bottom. And they’ll think that their losses are somebody else’s fault… that the system was rigged against them. Rinse and repeat.
Scams protected by his huge inheritance. I'm not sure he is clever enough to make it as a crook on his own. He knows how to play into narcissism though.
I offer the following suggestion to Judge Juan Merchan in the upcoming sentencing of DJ Trump.
First, he should offer Trump the opportunity to address the court before any sentencing and make no comments. Afterwards, the Judge should list Trump’s behavior outbursts over the past several weeks including today’s if any, noting the growing increase in violence and revenge in his statements, even when there is a medically trained person suggesting that Trump take a less violent position. Accordingly, the judge should suspend sentencing and order that Trump submit to undergo immediately a psychiatric evaluation for several days at a state-controlled institution and set a date for reconvening after the medical staff can submit their written evaluation of Trump’s ability to stand for sentencing. The ex-President needs rest and help now.
Paul, what an excellent, nuanced, powerful recommendation to Judge Merchan. Let's hope he reads such comments to Helen's column!
The only way to defeat Trump, at this point in the campaign cycle, is to put out the strong, alternative narrative that the poor orange hero is just no longer up to the job...his knee-jerk reactions will be more proof-positive of such.
But if tRump is found mentally ill or mentally incapacitated that would give his team an excuse for his disgusting behavior and to keep him out of prison.
I think he has serious personality disorders which are evident from his public behavior and tirades. I also suspect he may have the start of dementia, which explains why Trump was throwing shade at President Biden as “Dementia Joe.” President Biden may make gaffes and has a deliberate manner of speaking that he used to overcome his stuttering, but he is of sound mind and takes better physical care of himself than Trump does. Trump doesn’t exercise and subsists on a diet of fast food.
That's ok if it keeps him out of office, where he never belonged in the first place.
And there's still the documents case and Jan6. He might avoid prison on the basis of mental incompetence. It's better than the excuse of being president
Damn, Joe must have run across that quote from Will Rogers from November 26, 1932. “The money was always appropriated for the top in the hopes that it would trickle down to the needy. Mr. Hoover didn’t know that money trickled up. Give it to the people at the bottom and the people at the top will have it before night, anyhow. But it will at least have passed through the poor fellow’s hands.”
Repubs have been taking care of the rich way before Reagan made it his cause. Black Clarence figured out a way to get in on the gravy train. A traitor to his race, what I call any sell out to the white boy, rich, power club.
Why the astonishing, continuous, flagrant corruption from Clarence?
Let's dismiss the first, most obvious reason. He loves the money. He feels himself entitled to luxury. This is obvious. He's obviously corrupt in this way.
But there's a deeper reason. Clarence, like most Republicans, knows zero novels, memoirs, films, songs, or other arts. He's thus desensitized. Neutered. Empty as a human being, he can live in his cynical abstractions. Indifferent to the pain and other complications which so many of our great arts poignantly document.
Being dehumanized helps to defer to, suck up to the moneyed classes. One is basically stupid as to the rest of American life, though which he coasts in the luxury RV gifted to him by those who well know how to bribe.
I doubt many of us would have survived his childhood, and on some level the fact that he made it through an Ivy law school is amazing. But Republicans saw his vulnerability and indulged it to their advantage. Anita Hill was just collateral damage. He's a perfect vessel for their many needs, and Ginni needs to be held accountable as well. I always wonder what is behind their anti-abortion and birth control positions, since they've never had children.
If you're a parent, and you have kids, you need to be attentive, you need to be measured, that is, specifically aware of some basic things, and open to things you maybe weren't expecting.
Much easier just to skip all that, and aim for power, where one can package all of life for others (as Clarence loves doing in ruling his packages will fit all women as he intends, and eff them for any choices as in a real democracy they might be able to make).
So much easier to live with idiot abstractions, and take money -- lots of it, always corruptly so -- from the vulgar rich, helping to keep them in their vulgarities, and float oneself, one's packaged rulings, one's fantastically vast corruptions.
I wish I could remember which of the PBS programs profiled Thomas maybe a decade ago, but he was born into shockingly abject poverty, and someone in his family (father? uncle? I can't remember) got him into a Catholic school hoping he'd become a priest. I'm not so sure of the details any more, but it launched hm eventually into the same Yale law school class as Hillary and Bill Clinton and Robert Reich, who reported that he never returned his morning greeting. It seems clear (at least to me) that the bitterness runs deep and contributed to his sense of entitlement.
Sadly I think it's behind my daughter's conviction to never have children.
.her father is very wealthy (something I didn't know when I divorced him), with inherited money from slavery. He already bought her a $2m house-- which he holds title to. Ugly.
Oh. Please ! Many black children survived their childhoods ( Barack Obama for one) and grew up to be fine people with important jobs and national influence ( Martin Luther King). Clarence Thomas is not one of them ! As events unfold, examples of his mendacity become apparent. Added to the actions of his wife and the flag flying Alitos we see a Court that is not the norm and, certainly NOT the ideal. He must go ! Like McCarthy ,Thomas has no decency at all.
What the two men have in common is that they are regarded as African American. Obama's mother was white, educated and middle class, and his father studied here before returning to Africa. Clarence Thomas was born into the kind of Jim Crow poverty in Savannah that should have never been allowed. I wish you could see the photos of where he lived with his mother. It's a mistake to think that every black child is equally advantaged/disadvantabed.
Really ? Try looking at housing conditions in the South Bronx, in parts of Newark or in the shelters holding migrant children in NYC. Anyplace that has children living way under the poverty level. Clarence Thomas is a crook ! I don’t care where he came from. He got here and he corrupted himself. Anita Hill was right.And Barack Obama identifies as black and when he was first elected that stadium was filled with the happiest black people I have ever seen ! Of every hue !!!
Perhaps they are not paying attention to all the viagra, ED, and peroni (?) disease commercials on TV. There is a lot of health info out there for men.
I was curious and looked it up: Peyronie's Disease: The first three entries on Google were from pharmaceutical companies and the fourth was AI generated. The fifth was from the Mayo Clinic. Inquiring minds can research further if desired.
I have always been angered by the fact that Viagra was covered by insurance but any female birth control medications were not.
NOTE: Way, way more that I would say, but deciding not to be snarky. I'll go pour that second cuppa coffee now. Maybe the snark will come back.
Clarence Thomas is an intelligent man who has chosen to be greedy, reactionary and self-serving. He complained several years ago that he wasn’t paid enough as a member of the Supreme Court, and taking gifts from Harlan Crow has allowed Thomas to indulge in the luxury he thinks he deserves.
I write largely to note, while the billionaire class has thrived under the current Administration and would continue to do so even with added regulations and modest tax increases, this cadre mostly has gone all in with Trump both to increase their wealth and their hold over more levers of power.
Some have argued that democracy and capitalism are at odds, claiming we can have one or the other, but not both. I would beg to differ and, instead, would assert that there must be prescribed forms of public accountability for entities that have a disproportionate amount of wealth, power, and influence. This is not a matter of demonizing said entities, but an issue of democratic survival, wherein it is vital to inquire when moneyed interests must be subordinated to the public interest.
Correct. Louis Brandeis saw this clearly during the Progressive Era (progressive for some) when he noted that we could have democracy or huge accumulation of private wealth, but we could not have both. FDR understood this as well. The tragedy is that these efforts left out people traditionally expected to be kept politically and financially down and out.
Kathy, You’re right. Hence the urgency, especially in battleground states, of engaging in races up and down the ballot to elect increasingly more progressives committed to increasingly more social and economic justice for increasingly more people who feel overwhelmed and marginalized by institutionally oppressive forces largely beyond their individual control.
Well regulated capitalism is a decent form of economic model. It has nothing to do with democracy, except in the regulation, where these two different philosophies intersect.
What we have is the cancer stage of capitalism, where it eats itself.
Jen, In my view, capitalism—individual, vs. state, ownership of the means of production—is intrinsically connected with democracy. But, as we all know, it’s not very good at distribution unless wedded to social democratic institutions that contain its excesses and moderate its self-serving impulses.
Thank you for presenting the big picture by connecting the dots between the Clarence Thomas scandal and supply-side economics (and its corollary, trickle-down economics). As George Conway points out, I would be curious to know how much Justice Thomas owes in back taxes based on these previously unreported gifts.
I would like to take this opportunity to invite you all to join me, beginning next Saturday, on my new Substack page, written from my heart/mind of my path through nearly seven decades of self refflection, zen teachings and navigating these challenging times.
Starting Saturday June 15
Nonviolent Testosterone
Creating A Peaceful Life Begins With A Peaceful Heart/Mind
One man's journey to finding peace in a turbulent world
I will journal early morning from my path of meditation, zen teachings and my lived experience of nearly 70 years. I invite you to join me on a journey, meant to be shared from our lives of interdependence.
I will focus on A Month of Interdependence, beginning July 1, with a delve into the beautiful one page summation of The Heart Sutra, the core of zen teachings. Thanks for your consideration.
As a "private" tax preparer, aka CPA, I whole heartedly support the system that allows many taxpayers to file online at IRS. There are not enough CPAs to meet demand and anyone who qualifies to file direct at IRS does not need me. There is more than enough work for all of us. Most of us are not opposed to free filing at IRS.
Jennifer, our best friends are CPAs. Starting in late December, they go into stealth mode where they bury themselves inside their offices from early morning until late at night. And then after April 15th, they have to play catch-up with all of the business filings due at the end of April.
Excuse, my French, but what a fucked up system. Years ago, I asked what would help to even out the hours they spend filing invidicual and corporate tax returns. One of their suggestions was to have more than one filing deadline, e.g. 3/15, 6/15, 9/15, 12/15 for individuals and offset the corporate filings by a month from the individual filings.
Yesterday, Catherine Rampell of the WAPO reported that House Republicans want to reduce the IRS budget by an additional $2 billion.
"This week, House Republicans released a financial services appropriations bill that would slash the Internal Revenue Service’s fiscal 2025 funding by more than $2 billion, or about 18 percent from current levels. This is part of a much longer-term plan to sabotage the agency so it can’t collect taxes that are legally owed."
Since Covid-19 we have asked the IRS to do more with fewer resources. It's time this ends.
I agree. The Repubbies want to reduce the budget of the IRS at the behest of their multi-millionaire and billionaire money donors and giant corporations who want to continue cheating the country out of paying their fair share of taxes.
There's a through line here that Democrats can and should use: cheating. Republicans cheat on taxation. They cheat on voting rules. Cheat on redistricting, which allows them to cheat on representation. They cheated on the Supreme Court appointments of Gorsuch and Coney-Barrett. Their egregious and very public cheating corrupts Congress, the judiciary and, when they get the opportunity, the Executive. Three for three in the Federal government. And that doesn't even mention the states. And none of it is done in the interest of the majority of the American people.
President Biden has shown how the government can actually make the lives of ordinary Americans better, playing by rules that have the public interest of the actual public at heart. His campaign, and the campaigns down-ballot, should drive this point home. Framed this way, the campaign ads almost write themselves and should resonate with the majority of people, who have been on the giving end of policy give-and-take for too long.
Republicans have held disproportionate power for decades by ginning up populist outrage for issues that benefit the interests of the top sliver of Americans. It would be refreshing to see a campaign that creates populist outrage about policies that actually hurt the people.
This is a strategy that can turn Republicans' most powerful campaign weapon - the anger of the American people - against them. Imagine, a Democratic outrage machine, just like the Republicans', but based in truth.
Bravo. 100% spot on.
but yu have to acknowledge that the democrats fiddle all the while that repugs were fighting to dismantle the Federal Institutions????????????????? WTF. But so glad Biden has half heartly worked to change all this corruption but why in the hell did they not replace the head of the Department of Justice??????????? BUT I WILL VOTE BLUE NO MATTER WHAT AND SURE WISH THEY WOULD GET THERE ACT TOGETHER And make sure they nurse qualified individuals to run against repubs in all levels of governments both federal and states.
Julie, I don't have to acknowledge that the Dems only fiddle. They are working like crazy to fight the Crazy from the Republican side while keeping true to their values. I don't want a Trump- like Democrat being a dictator like tfg is promising to be.
Let's call it "The big cheat" like the movie "The Big Short." from the party of "family values" and of "law and order."
Greed and power, greed and power,
go together like a horse and a carriage.
Or, go together like a bribe and a lie?
Suggestions?
Sounds like a good concept for an ad, Patrick! Maybe the DNC is listening...
The Supreme Court example I gave above is a good first concept for a commercial. The Republican Senate couldn't vote on Garland eight months before the election and before any votes were cast, but rammed through Coney-Barrett's nomination eight days before the 2020 election. Legal, but clearly cheating.
The effects of these two nominations could scroll up the screen, starting with Dobbs and the gutting of the Voting Rights Act, and continuing through whatever horrors the Court visits on us before the end of June. The list of lost rights and reduced freedoms should resonate with just about anyone who cares for the will of the majority and the impartiality of the judicial process.
Fade to the hashtag #cheaters, then fade to black.
Mobiguy, you are right about the kind of campaign Democrats must run. Maybe asking something like "how do you like being cheated? What are you getting from a candidate, the Republican _____ who is OK with cheating you by giving all kinds of tax breaks to the very rich, leaving you to hold the bag of paying for the critical services we need while letting the very rich get away with cheating, lying, and stealing from the people? There are candidates who do actually care about you and what you need and they are not Republicans.
When Reagan took office in 1981 the federal debt was less than $1 trillion and conservative Republicans promoted no deficits. But Reagan began the war on the Middle Class with "Trickle Down Economics" and started the massive tax breaks for the wealthy (1986 Tax Reform Act.) The national debt under Reagan tripled. Every Republican administration since then has added to the national debt, Trump with a record $8.2 trillion in just four years. What we have done to succeeding generations, piling unconscionable debt onto their backs, is scandalous.
And yet you see conservatives blaming the national debt on things like "entitlements" and investments in education, infrastructure, etc. They act like they are SO concerned about government spending... but that's not the real culprit!
Here is an excellent article from Rolling Stone on fossil fuel tax subsidies-
(Apologies if it is behind a paywall).
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/fossil-fuel-subsidies-pentagon-spending-imf-report-833035/
And this article last month in the NYTimes-
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/15/climate/tax-breaks-oil-gas-us.html
Reagan was run by the Heritage Foundation, which is think- tanking our whole country down the tubes.
The Heritage Foundation was started in 1973, and was a pretty nascent force even at his second election. They hardly owned Reagan.
They wrote the conceptual framework for the Reagan years. I should have been more precise. Reagan’s policies were Heritage Foundation policies … Reagan himself, like Trump, was a tool.
At least it's out in the open now, with drumpf offering to fix things for the oil industry, of all people, if they just pay his ask.
TL After the continuing Republican castration of the IRS, I saw that IRS agents only examine 1.1% of the tax returns on individuals reporting more than $1,000,000 income annually.
That means that wealthy scofflaws have nearly a 99% chance of not being obliged to pay their legal taxes. I suspect that the same is true for large corporations with very complicated tax submissions.
At 90 I have never been audited. My tax accountant says that’s because I pay too much in taxes. Should I now be tempted [though far short of the millionaire category] to play the 99% no audit sweepstakes?
It is amazing how many people have never paid a dime in income tax. I saw that many times when I was an auditor. I believe audits in Indiana have been reduced since I retired in 2014. Of course Indiana is Repubican ran! It is bright red! We have a lot of uneducated people especially in government! Now sports is another issue....they know their sports! Early this morning I read on Facebook someone post that Biden is a liar and has milked the system for years. I wonder where they got that information!
It seems like a lot of their fears are based on lies.
France has staggered filings based on geographic region as well. And an online filing system. There is only one tax prep software that I’ve heard of so far and most everyone uses the official system
Indeed. But:
The deliberately antiquated system that is the tax filing steamroller is almost laughably unimportant compared to the inability of citizens, individual or in large majority blocs, to direct HOW their taxes are spent.
@ Gary Loft: In order to accomplish that goal, people must do their due diligence and research the positions of their favored candidates for office. It requires a bit of work, discipline and a certain amount of time.
Unfortunately Americans have somewhat of a reputation for being lazy voters--or even not bothering to vote. And again, Republicans are doing their best to make sure voting is more difficult. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that Republicans are once again lobbying to restrict the vote to male property owners--just like in those hazily misremembered "good ol' days".
Simple message- ask what policies they like and which party supports those. Can guarantee that the majority of people have no idea kind of like Obamacare versus the ACA. hate Obamacare, but love the ACA.
Yes...and nothing makes me sadder than to have witnessed, during the five decades of my adult life, the dumbing down of the American electorate, by a combination of poor coverage by the media and the deliberate starving of educational funding by the Repubbies.
TL The dumbing down of the electorate over my 90 years has been even worse. I once had a college student write that the three branches of government were CBS, NBC, and ABC.
I remember when news was news rather than entertainment. I haven’t watched a TV/cable ‘news show’ for over three years.
Some of my best analysis of America today comes from The Guardian and The Economist. The Week I enjoy for its cartoons AND its reporting on both sides of issues, domestically and globally.
Some of what I read in the NYT and the WP doesn’t pass my smell test for balanced accuracy. For example, they hammer Biden on age, while he is in excellent physical shape. Meanwhile, Trump demonstrates his incoherence every time he opens his mouth.
His flabbiness is highlighted when he rolls his golf cart on to the putting green. His hair is a masterpiece of chemicals and his pallor reflects what he might have been exposed to in Vietnam, if he hadn’t faked bone spurs—Agent Orange.
Unfortunately there are just far too many extremely ignorant people in this country, they do not realize that Republican policies have been harming them for decades and Democratic policies have been helping them.
And the culture wars most of which have no grounding in reality, just get them worked up to believe everything they hear.
Add white
Yes, Bern. That's because of Gerrymandering. Accountability is hampered.
I look at taxes as I do at my 401-K. I pay up front for future benefits. Taxes are for my society and investments are for my financial future.
On top of that, I'm willing to have some of my tax dollars spent on issues I don't care about in exchange for getting some of my priorities funded. Aren't you? Or is it your way or the highway?
I am a democrat, in a democratic system. Thus I am totally comfortable with not getting much of anything that I want. No perfect system (no perfect anything).
That said, in a perfect world, every citizen would get to direct their appropriately computed taxes to any one or more of the citizenry-agreed-upon programs of government. Every department head could make the argument for their program and its projects – a 'marketplace of ideas'. And a cohort of appointed citizens could make their argument for something different, something better, within the previously agreed upon mandates and goals of that department.
I'd also add a reserve or contingency fund to cover unknown unknowns.
The key to all this is that the vote takes place one year before the fiscal year it gets implemented, so agencies have some chance to prepare their workplans. This is another reason for a contingency fund, 'cause ya never know...
This will never happen but I keep banging this drum about once a year.
The best you can do is to target charitable contributions. Here's a paper I wrote for lawyers.
December 01, 2011 FINANCIAL PLANNING
Social Security—Maybe Charity Should Begin at Home
By Daniel F. Solomon
For most of its history, Social Security was a terrific bargain: our parents and grandparents most probably received significantly more benefits than they paid into the Social Security Trust Fund. The trust fund comprises the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Funds (OASDI, collectively).
In most cases, because our family units could rely on these benefits, they were able to enjoy enough financial independence to send people like us to school so that we could become lawyers—productive and, in some cases, wealthy, members of society. For 75 years, the Social Security Trust Fund has helped enable American soci- ety to achieve far beyond the aspirations of its founders, ultimately providing more than subsistence to retirees by also protecting widows, orphans, and disabled people. The dignity provided to needy beneficiaries surely far outweighs the economic value of the funds.
However, financial experts have long predicted a future insolvency of the funds. A majority of Americans have invested in the funds, recognize their social utility, and do not want to burden their heirs. Although there have been legislative attempts to “fix” the system, there is no consensus how to do it. The Congressional Research Service reported:
For example, for workers who earned average wages and retired in 1980 at age 65, it took 2.8 years to recover the value of the retirement portion of the combined employee and employer shares of their Social Security taxes plus interest. For their counterparts who retired at age 65 in 2002, it will take 16.9 years. For those retiring in 2020, it will take 20.9 years.
Geoffrey Kollmann and Dawn Nuschler, “Social Security Reform” (October 2002).
The National Commission on Social Security Reform (informally known as the “Greenspan Commission” after its chairman) was appointed by the Congress and President Ronald Reagan in 1981 in response to a short-term financing crisis that Social Security faced at that time. Estimates were that the OASI Trust Fund would run out of money possibly as early as August 1983. Congress rendered a compromise that extended the retirement age from 65 to 67, through a deal that raised payroll taxes and trimmed benefits enough to keep Social Security solvent. See Jackie Calmes, “Political Memo: The Bipartisan Panel: Did It Really Work?” New York Times, January 18, 2010. However, the legislation addressed only the immediate problem and did not address the long-term viability of the fund. See also Rudolph G. Penner, “The Greenspan Commission and the Social Security Reforms of 1983,” in Triumphs and Tragedies of the Modern Presidency, David Abshire, Editor. Washington: Center for the Study of the Presidency, pp. 129–31.
The George W. Bush administration commission deliberated on the issue and then called for a transition to a combination of a government-funded program and personal accounts (“individual” or “private accounts”) through partial privatization of the system.
President Barack Obama reportedly strongly opposes privatization or raising the retirement age but supports raising the cap on the payroll tax ($106,800 in 2009) to help fund the program. He has appointed a National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, which is to report and offer another fix.
Current estimates predict that payroll taxes will only cover 78% of the scheduled payout amounts after 2037. This declines to 75% by 2084. 2010 OASDI Trust- ees Report, Figure II.D2, www.ssa.gov/OACT/TR/2010/ trTOC.html.
Although the congressional plan was to ensure solvency through Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) tax, there is a private means to help: to also consider the humanitarian and charitable nature of the Social Security Administration (SSA), which has been possible since a legislative fix in 1972. Before then, bequests naming Social Security or a trust fund as a beneficiary could not be accepted, which caused problems in administration of some estates. Money gifts or bequests may be accepted for deposit by the managing trustee of the OASI and DI funds. Section 170(c)(l) of the Internal Revenue Code lists the U.S. government among the educational or charitable organizations to which donations are acceptable. Gifts must be unconditional, except that the donor may designate to which fund the gift should be donated. If no fund is designated, the gift is credited to the OASI Trust Fund.
However, SSA has not publicized its charitable persona. Although the agency has received some gifts and bequests, they have been insignificant and not given consideration in a possible fix. The concept has been so unimportant to the experts that the Annual Statistical Supplement to the Social Security Bulletin does not specify how much the administration has received in gifts and bequests. Total revenue from gifts to the trust funds has been quite small. From 1974 to 1979 the most received in any one year was $91,949.88. During that period, the average annual amount was only $39,847. In 1980, almost two-thirds of the gifts were less than $100. The median gift size was $50. One person, for example, donated $13.11. She arrived at that amount by applying 5.85% (the employee tax rate then in effect) to her benefit amount and donated it to help “‘shore up’ the sagging, dwindling Social Security fund.” However, the 2010 Social Security Trustees Report lists them as about $98,000 (www.ssa.gov/OACT/TR/2010/III_ cyoper.html#2). Compared to many other charities, this is a paltry amount.
Apparently, SSA has never done a feasibility study nor marketing research to determine how an aggressive campaign could raise funds to support Social Security, or how gifts and bequests could reduce the current estimates of impending doom. According to some estimates total deductions taken for all charities next year would be $413.5 billion. Estimates for fiscal year 2011 are that SSA will spend $730 billion. That amount is already covered through “contributions” (taxes), but it is reasonable that charitable contributions to the trust fund could significantly lessen taxpayer exposure for impending doom, if not return the fund to solvency.
As lawyers, we have the capacity to remind our families, our clients, and the public at large that there is a way to contribute to help endow future generations in the pursuit of the same kind of social stability that Social Security provided to our parents and grandparents.
Daniel F. Solomon is an administrative law judge at the U.S. Department of Labor, member of the ABA House of Delegates, past chair of the National Conference of Administrative Judiciary, Judicial Division, president of the Federal Administrative Law Judges Conference, and author of Breaking Up with Cuba (McFarland, 2011). All opinions expressed are those of the author and not any organization or group.
It's called elections.
Gary, perhaps it might become illegal for a corporate advisory firm to assist in financial activities and also have a different unit of the same firm to prepare their income tax. An example would be Price Waterhouse that has been fined numerous times for pushing the vague boundaries.
Never forget, it’s Grover Norquist’s and republicans goals to completely gut the government so that it will only work for the big guys.
Excellent information for voters and taxpayers. Thx!
Gary, maybe Democrats should be spending more time and effort telling people that the very rich want to cut the IRS so only poor or working-class people will be audited while the very rich continue to pay no or very little in taxes compared to everyone else. Saying the Republican IRS proposal is to keep those very rich from paying their taxes and making it harder for other people to get tax help might wake some people up to the Republican cheating which goes on regularly through their representatives. Why would Republicans want to vote for people who want to scam them while giving all kinds of breaks for the rich? We need all candidates to keep bringing this up and having pundits asking Republican interviewees why they are planning to cut the IRS budget? "What will you gain from doing that? Who are you representing, your constituents or the very rich who probably donate to your campaign?"
I worked for the IRS for 34 years. Republicans loved cutting our funding LONG before Covid.
My dad worked for the IRS for over 30 years starting around 1958 until he retired around 1992 in Omaha, NE. He hated the lasted few years he was there, but enjoyed the first 20 or so. He had a degree in accounting he got in 1950 but had trouble getting a job in accounting partly because he was a disabled Vet. But it helped him get the job with the IRS. He was only offered one promotion in the time he was there but we would have had to move and my parents didn't want to because my mom was working full-time and she didn't want to get a new job. He was a GS-3 when he retired at 62 and was making a little over $13K at the time. Congress never has treated the IRS and it's employees worth a damn.
Eventually only tax on the lower class! Sure not on the upper class!
Australia has had such a system for decades. It works well and is easy to use.
Americans are thought unpatriotic if they try to learn from the experiences of other countries.
The disrespectful "not invented here" stigma is a bias instilled by design.
Failure to bring this court under some semblance of control to confirm that we live under governance by and for the people can tip the balance into holding a Constitutional Convention. That seems dangerous, and we are already closer to calling one than many realize.
A trait that seems to have served modern Japan well, besides careful preservation of their ancient cultural heritage, is awareness and learning from ideas from other nations.
A Constitutional Convention at this time of confusion doesn't seem merely dangerous--it would be an outright disaster.
Agreed, T L The Rs would get rid of anything that calls for equality, etc. and write a constitution for autocracy.
Realize the first Convention was held shrouded in secrecy, thus kept from those who would be governed by it. This is a bit like the conditions under which the "Trans Pacific Trade Agreement" was being constructed, so the precedent of "the Founders" and practice of this character of "originalism" reveals pretty much how the ruling class of the 21st Century would orchestrate a rewrite. I doubt that the operatives of neither party would support ANY transparency in the process. The fact is that our country is now very different, thank goodness, from the vision of "the Founders" thanks to the fact that we have dismantled much, but not all, of the UNDEMOCRATIC process that "the Founders" championed. We risk loss of all the evolution toward a functional democracy that we have achieved in over two centuries.
There are states calling for one which would obliterate the rights of humans in favor of corporations and hereditary wealth.
A return to Kings and Serfs, by any other name, but a return …
That is an area of civic education that seriously needs attention — a constitutional convention could be the thing that brings down our form of government by fiat.
People think it means adjusting the constitution, but they don’t realize we could ditch the whole thing — or at least all the parts that THE PEOPLE depend on for our civic freedoms AND our civil rights.
True, a Constitutional Convention is fraught with danger; but, it could also fix one of the biggest and most undemocratic aspects that we have: the Electoral College and the system of how U.S. Senators are allocated. California has two U.S. Senators. About 16 states with extremely small populations each have two U.S. Senators, meaning California's population of 40 million has two while 22 states with a total comparable population have 44 U.S. Senators.
“Fixing” things that are wrong with our Constitution does NOT require a convention that opens the entire document to reinterpretation and change … !
Amendments can be proposed individually at any time — OR in a group, such as the first ten, which we call our Bill of Rights.
If you want to change the Electoral College, we can AMEND the Constitution and not risk losing the whole damned thing.
NO CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION NEEDED !!
Seriously, not needed, not wanted, too dangerous … !
There is a majority of Republican House delegations and that decides what changes get advanced. Until Dems win more state delegations, our best plan is to stall any additional state legislatures voting for it, and to have some reverse a previous vote.
We would also ditch 2 centuries of judicial interpretation of constitutional law, which is a whole other can of worms.
So... it would be just like any typical decision day at today's Supreme Court.
Yes! Too many think “exceptionalism” god-given. They should have felt the crosses at Normandy. A good look at many European countries might help. Time for ocean liners for everybody, maybe even tax-deductible trips abroad. It’s educational! Thank you, Carol for the “Dutch description.”
Everyone who likes the America we have must make themselves aware of and fight against a constitutional convention. This is the next stealthy thing the rightwing nuts in this country are cooking up. We need to win this election and then immediately start working hard on two things: keeping majorities in both houses of Congress, and spending real money, thought, and time in persuading state legislatures into voting against—and in some cases reversing votes—calling a convention.
There are already well thought out plans for this convention as to make the constitution unrecognizable. I know this all sounds a bit nutty, but it’s a real threat.
Not nutty at all. It’s part of their plan.
We have an amendment process that goes at the things we may not like “point by point.” No need to put the whole enchilada in jeopardy.
People need to learn how our government is supposed to work, and try to make it work …
First step: propose a Constitutional amendment to (1) abolish the Electoral College and adopt the direct election of the President by national popular vote, and (2) trigger automatic redistricting at the state level if the percentage of representatives by party differs from the statewide popular vote by more than a specified margin.
Call it the "voice of the people" amendment, and question why one party comes out in opposition to something that so obviously increases the fairness of the electoral system.
We can hope the amendment would be ratified. But if it isn't, it should be great campaign fodder for the next election cycle(s).
Can you elaborate on your comment about a constitutional convention? I am embarrassed to admit I have never heard about this?
It’s a convention to totally rewrite the Constitution, similar to the one where it was originally written
And while someone may say “we only want to do [x],” the entire Constitution is opened for manipulation.
Thank you. I did not realize that this could devolve into such a thing- although each time I think we can’t possibly sink lower we do.
Which is why it’s SO dangerous! Check out the people we have in this country trying to reinterpret the one we have — they’d make it illegal to BE a woman without a man to control her … OK, so that may be going too far, but it’s damned near what the Ultra Conservatives and the Fundamentalist Right Wing seems to want … They do seriously want to limit power and votes and prerogatives for anyone but the wealthy class, though. That is not exaggeration,
https://www.commoncause.org/our-work/constitution-courts-and-democracy-issues/article-v-convention/
My bet is that the people will lose their Bill of Rights if the ruling class operatives of the parties are the writers of a revision, and they would fight without reservation to be those writers. After all, the original Constitution had no Bill of Rights and limited rights of access to voting. Those supporting the doctrine of "originalism," include appointed judges, and their supporters religiously worship that "ideal" along with deification of "the Founders."
Some Democrats call for one because they so badly want the Second Amendment completely gone. Such single issue myopia misses that we could lose all of the rest. Still, if corruption of SCOTUS and Congress is seen to be slowly taking all away and people see no other hope, the balance could be tipped to make for a very bad decision.
Looking at the map of states that have called for a convention, one might take note of who they are — Southern and Midwestern {and New Hampshire} states that want to turn back civil rights … Think about this, people.
If people have an issue with AN article of amendment, THAT is what they should focus on — NOT the entire document …
I remember the process of the development of the Affordable Care Act when many did a deep dive into the health care systems of other developed nations. The resultant system is not perfect, but is way better than before. Especially with many self employed or part time it allows an option for health insurance that was not available before and the elimination of exclusions for pre-existing conditions is life saving for many. Now Biden's work to lower prescription drug costs should close an important gap in previous systems.
"The resultant system is not perfect, but is way better than before."
This, like any government program of massive scale, is arguably not as "efficient" as the private sector, but definitely more "effective" because it includes so many and excludes so few.
The resultant system is not perfect because of the concessions made to the private health care industry!
Maybe not as "efficient".. maybe, but certainly subject to oversight by citizens. Not so, private industry. Or "Citizens United"..aarrghhh!
In truth, the ACA is more efficient than any commercial insurance; the only thing more efficient would be single payer.
may I comment about what the private sector has become. One scam after another. The latest one being the Car warranty scam. The product review is proceeding to scam status. The greedflation rampant everywhere. Just a drop in the bucket. these I know well, of late…
If only more people were aware of the Biden Administration's work to lower the cost of prescription drugs... Yet another example of this administration's accomplishments for the American people. You're not going to hear about this on F*x.
How true, and how stupid.
Exceptionally stupid.
EMPTY Greene...? Carol.., you did say "Exceptionally stupid.., didn't you? I'd agree, though she shares a dubious "perfect example" pinhead definition with sister Bo-baire, while encircled by so many others (Graham, Cruze, Nikki, Katie, Mace, Scott, Abbott, ad infinitum, all exhibiting an even more-sickening kind of ignorance and faux-grace (foie-gras?). In meager defense, not all working-class MAGAtts love eMpTy Greene, but they share her mentality. And those creeps would love the publicity such a "convention" would offer them. Big Media , can see the $$$ flowing it already. A billion time ten is a lot of money. Let's not get bought out.
It’s time we learned from other countries, many of whom have things to teach US. The first think I think of is public transportation. Hoping Secretary Buttigieg will bring US the TGV. Imagining it on the East Coast and across the country. Plenty of track. It just needs updating and some concrete ties. Only problem would be replenishing electricity during a 15 minute stop during long trips. Could Americans bear that for the speed and smoothness of the ride?
I have just spent a week touring Amsterdam and Haarlem. I was more likely to be hit by a bicycle than a car. Saw an old man biking along with a rolled up rug on his should. Parents have child compartments on the front of the bike for as many as three small children. Chairs everywhere are narrow. The Dutch are very tall, not wide. It’s the exercise.
Australia has other interesting systems that I like as well. Mandatory voting and a better retirement plan are among them.
American "exceptionalism" is dumb.
"American exceptionalism" isn't. We're not exceptional. I'm sorry, but we're a teenager as far as countries go, with all the certainty that a teenager brings to their positions and opinions.
Ah, Ally, once while in Egypt, we were sitting in a tomb with our guide and he was reminding us how young we are. For him we were barely out of the womb.
I disagree with you. The US is by far the most diverse nation in the world. We are not perfect in blending that diversity, and far more often than not, we use our diversity to good advantage.
And for reasons I can’t fathom, over the past hundred years, we have shown an almost unique ability to rally many nations with us for a cause.
I think you're actually making my point; the enthusiasm of youth is able to "rally many nations with us for a cause". It's just that our history as a nation is so short, and we tend to think in absolutes rather than nuances.
Be careful what you wish for. Some studies say mandatory voting would result in a permanent Republican majority.
If we lose on November 5th that's what we can expect. Republican authoritarianism modeled on Russia. Project 2025 lays it all out.
If most younger voters participated, I think we would be OK. Their world view is a healthier one.
How was that?
Our exceptionalism is a lie.
Talia, friends that moved there say that this is only one part of the things that the Australian government does well.
Maybe they would take Rupert back.
Jeri, they said that the Australians don’t want him back.
At least one of his evil spawn is there. But the devil spawn is here
"There are not enough CPAs to meet demand and anyone who qualifies to file direct at IRS does not need me. There is more than enough work for all of us. Most of us are not opposed to free filing at IRS."
You're not the group that is threatened ... the high volume / low margin stuff is where the serious money might decrease if the IRS offers a decent alternative - H&R Block and all that crowd.
As someone a bit upthread has mentioned, we've had a good self-service automated system in Australia for some years now ... and it gets improved each year. How hard is this? I guess the lobbyists totally rule DC, and have for centuries.
The politicians who hate taxes want to make it as difficult as possible for ordinary citizens without many deductions to file their taxes. Wealthier taxpayers get away with paying as little as possible and the Trump tax bill handed the very wealthy lots of tax cuts while sticking the less affluent taxpayers with the bills. There is no satisfying their greed and it’s killing our political system.
People sometimes forget scale. When the US finds another country doing something really well, there is often the far greater challenge of bringing even positive change to a country of 325 million from a country of 26 million. It’s hideously expensive, a management challenge to a vast degree, and that means greater risk of failure. Not saying we shouldn’t do it, but that is why people sometimes choose an incremental approach.
After using H&R Block once, and having to later pay penalties for that poorly done return I've tried to always use a certified CPA, and keep that person as a friend... for years. If people do their own,,, does the government check it for errors in favour of the filter???
Thank you, Jennifer. From the 1982 through the 2021 tax year I used EA (enrolled agents) exclusively for tax preparation. Since then I have sold all my property and given my car to my adult granddaughter. I filed my taxes with the new IRS system for 2023 and for the first time in forty years. I finally got a tax refund.
My daughter moved from FL to ME in 2023 and being a partial year resident in ME she didn't know how she needed to file--partial year resident vs. non-resident. Her ME employer withheld ME state income taxes so she needed to file in ME to get her refund.
She used Intuit and they charged her $59 twice because she needed some additional information and they made her start over. They would not issue a refund for one of the $59 charges.
I called the ME Dept. of Revenue and was told their hours for taxpayer "assistance" was 8:30 - noon 4 days a week. What a joke.
Anyway, even though the Federal return may be free, ME purposely makes it difficult to determine residency so they can nail summer people that stay more than 6 months during the year.
If they stay more than 6 months, shouldn’t they pay? I get that the lack of support nail’s them, but I infer that you mean paying their fair share is nailing them?
Yes, they should. Several years ago one of the state Senators admitted the rules were fuzzy so they could collect more income taxes from out of state people. Should that really be the role of government, especially when you have to sit on hold for long periods of time to get a clarification from someone that is just as confused about the rules as you are?
If the State of ME wants to collect more state income tax, they would lower to rate to 3% of your income and make the residency requirement to file in ME maybe four months instead of six. They should also make individuals that earn less than $35K/year not required to pay or file ME state income tax. The employers would still notify the State of ME like they do now so it would be easy to catch tax cheats.
That sounds good. Thanks for your thoughtful reply. Here in CT, people can spend enough time in Florida to avoid paying tax in CT but still come home to enjoy it in the best seasons. CT should change its laws to get its people to pay their share, too. The ones who cheat are the ones who can afford to pay; it’s so aggravating.
Gary, speaking of Maine, my sister was married to a man who worked in Maine, but they lived in NH, where she worked. ME taxed *her income* earned in NH as well as her former husband's. I never understood that.
I don't get it either. Nothing like double taxation.
I was raised in Omaha and the.same thing happened with Iowegians that worked in Omaha and lived in Council Bluffs. But that was back in the 1970's so it may be different now.
New York State is also big on double taxing.
As a healthcare provider, I have always said the same thing about Medicare for all or a similar public option, and all of my clinician friends agree with me. We providers can still make a good living and most of us entered the field to help people, not to make a bundle of money. Boo hoo Clarence, how’s a person to get by on only $300k? I never made half that yearly amount in my very comfortable life.
Maureen, my (formerly doctor owned and managed) local clinic sold to United Healthcare (what a joke for a name) that is run by insurance companies. It is a shell of its former self. So many people get sucked into the Medicare "Advantage" programs that it just blows my mind. I'm with you; a national public option that is NOT in any way run or managed by insurance companies is a great option.
We were watching a movie last night where a Doctor was making a house call. That particular scene was from 1945. I'm not sure what it would take to get any doctor to make a house call today.
Years ago there was a story on NPR narrated by a man whose father was a small town doctor. He had no problems managing the office, billing, appointments etc. until health insurance came into the picture. He tried going cash only but so many of his patient had group insurance through there employer that he was forced into dealing with the claims.
Group health insurance changed everything and definitely not for the better..
It's yet another method for large companies to hold their employees hostage so they can't quit and start their own companies.
You mean this company?
https://x.com/DGlaucomflecken/status/1798365317317701813
Yup. How does an insurance company owning a medical practice that takes insurance from numerous providers not violate some anti-trust laws?
Amen
Maureen, if Medicare Advantage plans replace Medicare for all, you won’t make a living wage. A lot of Rural hospitals have folded because the fee structure for many Medicare Advantage plans pay so much less than Medicare does.
https://www.modernhealthcare.com/politics-policy/rural-hospitals-medicare-advantage-pay-closing#:~:text=Analysts%20say%20hundreds%20of%20small,is%20making%20the%20threat%20worse.
I’ve been on a soapbox decrying Medicare Advantage (i.e., private health insurance subsidized by the Federal Government, unfortunately) for years. Their apparently huge advertising budget has duped millions of seniors into accepting “skinny” healthcare coverage in exchange for slightly lower premiums and the promise of dental and vision reimbursement. But if they need an expensive treatment or medication, they are denied, or offered inferior, cheaper substitutes.
Thank you for being an example for the rest of us for the need for each to be a states(wo)men now. 💓
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THANK YOU!! How wonderful to hear fair and honest business practices. Our Tax Accountant also encourages such filing when it works for free!!
That is actually a good thing to see noted … Thanks!
I'm so glad you said this, Jennifer. I have a friend who is a CPA and I haven't asked her yet how this was for her. I love the idea of "more than enough work;" may it always be so for you!
That is very heartening to hear. Nobody wants to put anyone out of work. Thank you for clarifying that.
Hi Jennifer, thank you for your remark. Does the online reporting system work also for those who have income in other countries?
No, it does not. It for basic taxpayers who should not need to pay someone to do their taxes.
Clarence Thomas, who has, in effect, taken bribes and failed to recuse himself from cases related to the January 6th insurrection, which his wife openly supported, should be impeached and criminally charged. This is just the first step in restoring credibility and honor to the Supreme Court.
The degree to which our government tolerates corruption and unacceptable situational risks of corruption is resulting in, well, corruption.
Science knows that conflicts of interest can sometimes influence decisions unconsciously of even those who strive to be even handed (let alone those who evince no such effort).
JL, it totally chaps my ass that “public servants” would act thus! I was a public servant for 40+ years in the CA college system. My mantra to the folks I supervised was that the people of the state of CA were paying our wage and we owed it to them to do the best job possible, to not slack and to stay productively busy & do the best job possible. When I first started out I was just 18 and working in the student Fin Aid Office @ UCSB…it was summertime and, as the frontline “receptionist”, there was little foot/phone traffic. I was told in other offices in the “downtime” folks read books or even brought sewing in (!)….nope, could not do that. One day one of the staff came looking for me and I was not at my desk—it was somewhat remote from other workers—she called out to me and I answered from a supply closet located behind where I sat. She asked what I was doing & I said there is nothing to do, so I decided to clean out and tidy up the supply closet…she was a bit stunned that I would do that. I told her it didn’t feel right to me to just “sit” and not be productive whilst being paid. Much later, when I was a supervisor @ an Cal State Univ, I told staff working the front counter—they were chatting as it was a slow foot/phone traffic day—that I didn’t mind them chatting as long as they were also being productive and outlined a number of projects they could do while also carrying on a conversation—I was totally cool w/ them conversing, as long as they were also working. Unfortunately I also saw examples on campus of those who thought being a state employee was a cush “ride” and really slacked at their jobs….I did not approve! Anyone being in higher positions in state or Federal positions, to me, really requires a commitment to service, to perform the job your were hired or, especially, elected to do….in reality one should do their best in any job they take on if they are paid to do so. Don’t know if that’s “old school” or not these days, but I knew that early on. I am aghast as some of the shenanigans pulled by our public officials and can only think they are committing offenses that warrant termination, or at the very least negative evaluations with an “improvement plan” outlined to be their goal.
My 40 years of medical practice spanned a time from when pharmaceutical reps could fly docs to Disney, put us in a hotel and wine and dine us as they "educated" us on their latest and greatest new drugs. This moderated to occasional lunches then just branded pens and note pads. We eliminated drug rep visits and "free samples" by the time I retired. Some had the balls to ask "can I count of you for X number of new prescriptions?". I was always uncomfortable with the system and how it influenced our prescribing. The free samples were handy for people unable to afford their inhalers and insulin, but how screwed up is that? The "ask your doctor if this drug is right for you" ads still annoy me.
And as far a I'm aware it's still illegal everywhere but here and New Zealand. Did you wonder why pharma comoanies would advertise heavily to the public products we cannot buy? One reason of course is to create hypochondriacs, but I'm convinced the real reason is a bribe to media to not do investigative pieces on their business practices.
As someone who was in scientific sales for decades, I always found the pharma sales people pretty sleazy.
Seriously!
Look at how the Purdue company marketed Oxycontin! An absolute obscenity.
Thank you for your service and integrity. What corrupt for the physician is corrupt for the politician.
Looking at you, Clarence.
It’s a matter of personal pride! Slackers have very little, but don’t mind taking their paychecks! Sound like the MAGAs in the US House!
Add the senate and on the courts
Thank you, Barbara, you are the epitome of what Civil Service is supposed to be. I also had a Civil Service job - only for 14 years. Most employees worked, there are always a few slackers.
If I was the boss, I send them packing. Wait, government of, by and for whom??
JL, as a supervisor I always felt it was my job to help an employee do their best. If I saw troublesome activity (often had to do with challenging communications with students/parents on the phone/reception counter), I would take them aside (never in front of others) and make suggestions how to be more effective…in other words, deal with it ASAP. Then when it was time for formal evaluations nothing was a surprise & we could have a good conversation about their progress & discuss goals….and most folks did…good customer service is a learned skill…tho’ some more than others have the “gene” for it! There were a few folks who were not a good fit for the position and where possible I’d try to find another role that better matched their skills…sometimes it was even encouraging moves to other departments & was always pleased when they thrived with the move. Workers in my area were considered “entry level” (very much underestimating the skill it took make it look effortless!) and encouraged them (but was sad!) to, once they learned the ropes, apply for advancement. I was really lucky to work with a like-minded group of folks—the Director who hired me became an admired mentor to me and most others who worked there—who became like a family & now, even more than a decade after retirement, we still (those in the area) meet up several times a month. A real right livelihood.
I think of your estimable point this way:
"If my entire life were a feature film, how would I perform? If I did not have editing privileges, and if the audience was the entire world, how would I play my part? What would viewers of the film take away in their consideration of my performance?"
Adding here: I am not proud of my performance, but I keep trying...
Oh, Bern, I’ve had my share of stumbles or prat-falls (as in kinda funny)….and the show goes on!
I suspect that if we are proud of everything I have ever done, we are not being honest with ourselves, and that takes courage.
Thank you Barbara Keating. What a wonderful work ethic and you taught others that too.
Thanks, Helen, those were the values I grew up learning, so can thank my elders for the guidance & it has served me and my kin well.
Gameing the system is a survival strategy that works, so there are those who do so in all walks of life. Some do it with teams of lawyers and lobbyists ans some on hourly wages. Often supervisors are the worst of the lot. Certainly part of the is a society that teaches that profit isn't everything, it the only thing. That's always been a thing, but it's grown more malignant in recent decades.
We are a social, cooperative species, and we have unrivaled powers to pass on what we learn to the next generation, not as a ridged template, but as awareness and behavior that grows with each generation. We collaborate is the present, and trade what we can do to get what we need. Freedom is not only a trait we develop within ourselves, it is an environment we improve with one another. I think we all have responsibilities for all of us, and in "public service", that's part of the job description, worthy of honor by those who fill the role, as well as by society as a whole.
Thank you for your good-faith service!
JL, I was lucky to land in a worthwhile endeavor with folks who felt the same about doing our best and, well, just “helping”!
'The degree to which our government tolerates corruption and unacceptable situational ..."
I would edit that to "... our government AND the PUBLIC tolerates...."
' Tolerate' makes it sound as though its a choice.
It is and isn't. "Clean up the corrupting influence of big money in government" has not proved to be an appealing campaign issue, but in many ways that money has proved to be the one ring to rule them all, and resulted in presidents, congress and judiciary, that promotes de facto bribery and which sabotages service to the general welfare.
Yep. Simply too many very wealthy people who put themselves first. The system must be wrung out. But it will all likely come down around our heads first, unfortunately.
Yes. Write (or email) your Congress person. It can't be done this year, but if the articles of impeachment are written AND publicized this year it might sway some independent and undecided voters to support Democrats. Both Alito and Thomas should be first on the list for impeachment. BTW, 15 judges have been impeached, 8 convicted, 4 resigned before Senate trial and 3 exonerated. Only 3 Presidents, one twice, none convicted.
Thomas may "decide" to retire early. Shouldn't 75 be the SCOTUS retirement age anyway?
Both Thomas and Alito want to retire but can’t do so until they put DJT back in office so they can be replaced by younger versions of themselves. Watch the presidential immunity decision to come.
Darn.
The parties can't argue for a SCOTUS retirement age of 75 when Democrats are running an 81 yr old and Republicans are nominating a 77 year old for president.
Yes.
And term limits of 12 - 18 years.
Frankly, I think 13 should be on staggered terms of 15 years; that’s half of what’s considered a generation.
Wow, good intel, Fay. I always thought impeaching a Justice was next to impossible. This gives me hope! Let’s get on it!
Fay makes a good point however, only one of the 15 judges impeached was a SCOTUS JUSTICE. Actually he (Abe Fortas) resigned to avoid the inevitable impeachment for his rather egregious behavior.
Compared to Clarence, Fortas was a paragon of virtue.
Well, the threshold for “egregious” does seem to have changed over the decades of my life.
I did. My US Senator is Marsha Blackburn and my rep is Tim Burchett. Need I say more?
😢
I love my senators: Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley.
And I an sorta comfortable with Murkowski.
Please don’t gloat. 🤨 we once had Bob Corker, but like other adult republicans he left.
Not gloating, in any way, shape, or form. Just celebrating them. I regularly contribute money to Democrats running for senate in Tennessee. You deserve better!
Thank you so much! Check this out and keep up with us https://bluetennessee.org/. We are focused on state races but as I've pointed out to our group, Marsha and that dimwit Tim (not that Marsha's not) both "graduated" from the TN legislature.
There are two of us on here that are on the advisory board. If you'd like to join us, we'd love to have you. Thanks again.
I love half of my Senators and the other one can GTH. (Angus King is super and that other one can remain nameless.
The Pearl Clutcher!!!
Sorry. Isn't Marsha a well known figure in the New Apostolic Reformation?
Not that I know of, but she is a nationally known disgrace.
Google her
“Blackburn is married to Chuck Blackburn.[6] They live in Brentwood, a suburb of Nashville in Williamson County,[29] and have two children.[6] She is a Presbyterian and a member of Christ Presbyterian Church.[33]”
Poor thing. My rep used to be Madison cawthorn 🤬
OK, you win. But at least you got rid of him. What a POS!
I'm sorry. Maybe Taylor Swift can get the disenfranchised in TN to come out and vote.
Well, she does despise Marsha. Who, btw, always looks like she just rolled out of bed.
No, that unfortunately says it all😵💫😤 Those are my "representatives" as well 😖
Join us at https://bluetennessee.org/
We are trying to make a difference--we've just started.
I think "recusing oneself" is a voluntary act which, in the cases of Thomas and Alito, would include admiting that they are corrupt.
Why does anyone expect them to do this?
(Genuinely curious)
I suspect Michael does not expect Justices Alito and Thomas to do this. By their openly rejecting calls for recusals, the Congress can then impeach and remove these men who have sullied the Court.
Problem being we have a corrupt and do nothing Congress. They cannot all be part of the fringe; however, the don’t have the personal courage to stand up for what is right.
I understand Senator Whitehouse, who has long commented on SCOTUS problems, was ready to hold the justices accountable but Sen Durbin, chair of the Judiciary Committee, won’t act. If true, this is problematic—except we know how diabolical McConnell is…
Essentially they are balanced forces....the good vs the bad and so they cancel each other out. Damning all, damns the good with the bad
Life and the conditions that enable life is an incredibly complex system of balances, and concepts of balance are relied upon to regulate our system of governance so long as we can maintain a level playing field. Things start to slide in dangerous ways when we do not.
In part they are cowed by the power of money. Millions can be and have been used to unseat any uppity member of congress by angry plutocrats.
Those who practice the better part of valor concern me more than the whackoes.
Because they can hold their noses better ?? :)
I expect them to do it because 1) they are held to a higher standard and given lifetime appointments for their unbiased ethical opinions(haha) and 2) because they need to follow their own code of ethics 3) because their conduct demeans all the other Justices and their own SC!
The Supreme Court did not even have a code of ethics until last November, when they instituted one in response to accusations of impropriety and corruption on the court. It is a toothless code: there is no mechanism for enforcement, and the justices themselves ensure their own compliance. That is hardly reassuring in the face of the blatant corruption we have witnessed from both Clarence and Alito. The code is also vague and full of loopholes.
See https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/new-supreme-court-ethics-code-designed-fail
They don't care. They want the money.
And they want to keep their power. Marbury was a bad deal....the SC never kept their part of the bargain....the good faith part.
"Clarence Thomas was a key vote on the Supreme Court. But as ProPublica reported in December 2023, Thomas complained in 2000 to a Republican member of Congress about the low salaries of Supreme Court justices (equivalent to about $300,000 today) and suggested he might resign."
Maybe in they threw in some "food stamps"?
Or a luxury RV...
NOW you're talking...
Loot stamps?
I agree with you but remain pessimistic. Those two scheiße on us when they ought to should on themselves. 🤬
Power tends to corrupt, does it not?
"Nip the shoots of arbitrary power in the bud, is the only maxim which can ever preserve the liberties of any people." - John Adams
Except there is little that is arbitrary about this abuse of power -- it is willful and systematic.
P.S., ¿where is Senator Goldwater when we need him?
Actually, he is here in the form of Representative Cheney and Senator Romney. Senator Goldwater did not have to worry about being 'primaried' or drumpfed. Someone in this forum placed the responsibility of this mess upon the voters, at least those in the Trump base; (s)he hit the bull's eye on that one.
No. Especially when the job is just sitting around in your robe all day.
What happened to "checks and balances"? Equal Justice Under Law? Should be make it it "voluntary" for bank employees not to stuff their pockets from the till and leave it at that? If Thomas somehow was indicted, would he get to rule on his own trial? This is crazier than "Wonderland". "Recusal" means that ethical judges must sit it out, and the crooked ones don't??
And we do not need psychedelics to get there. We are there!
Since they won't recuse themselves, why can't we get them out by having one day where the whole nation comes together and says they should quit. A national quit day for them!
It should happen, but won’t. I wish Dick Durbin would start off with subpoenas to both Thomas and Alito.
And if Durbin won’t get it done, he needs to go! The corruption of Thomas and Alito is over the top and Durbin is derelict in his duties as he sits on his butt hoping it all goes away. Pathetic! Who is bribing Dick Durbin?
Having come of age during a period of credible SCOTUS performance, it has been troubling to me to realize that there is now a “for sale” sign on a portion of the court. The more I learn, the more troubled I become.
If Trump gets in we won't need a court. They're just the rats grabbing what they can on the way out.
Leonard Leo in addition to Sam Alito flies the Appeal to Heaven flag. I assume Thomas is aware of this although he may not actually fly the flag. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/appeal-to-heaven-flag-flew-leonard-leo-house-1235026491/
But the even scarier part is that the flag was resurrected to the New Apostolic Reformation and was everywhere at the Capitol on Jan 6. https://www.baptiststandard.com/news/nation/appeal-to-heaven-flag-tied-to-christian-nationalism/
Thomas's philosophy is such that he need not be bribed other than to keep him from threatening to leave. He has never been more than a ditto for Scalia and Alito. His vote is a guaranteed anti-vote. He is against any idea that would help the poor and people of color. His philosophy is tortured rationalizations. He has said that he makes it on his merit and all other black Americans should also. He should have been impeached long ago. He was Bush Sr. appointee.
Yes, and Joe Biden was the Judiciary Committee chair.
Yes and I must say, he did a crappy job. He and many other Senators were guilt-tripped by the race card and had been marinating in their own lifelong sexism: the combo crippled their thinking! Of course, Anita Hill was telling the truth.
Yep. Seems like we're still stuck in the 90's
I believe Alito should be included too.
I think the "criminally charged " bit is kind of ...well, exciting. What would be the charge?
I think we leave HW Bush off the NIST of miscreants too often. He gave us Clarence Thomas as well as the free trade thing Clinton signed. It was negotiated by HW.
Its probably too late....too near November 5th.
Not just here, but everywhere: Arundhati Roy writes that the world's 500 billionaires have more wealth than 170 nations combined! She notes corporations move globally with impunity, extracting wealth and impoverishing the people, while governments stifle themselves with pretense. I praise Biden for his attempts to raise the ordinary person to dignity again. May he be victorious on Nov 5. If he (and we) can manage a clean sweep, Democrats will enforce old standards of taxing the wealthy.
Folks, I am editing this comment because it needs updating. The reality is significantly worse. Please see William Burke et al. below. Also, from today's Thom Hartmann substack: "The pay gap between CEOs and workers is growing. Most American CEOs make more in a day than their employees do in an entire year. What possibly justifies this kind of obscene compensation?"
How can these people possibly live with themselves?
Malignant narcissism; everything's OK if it's OK for ME. Conscience is for suckers.
They sleep like a baby, no conscience is a great sleeping pill
Apparently, there is a quasi-religious belief in transactional dealings in which what I have belongs to me; what you have belongs to me, too. But yes, how can they?
What the wealthy have belongs to us, and what we have belongs to us. That's what a state is for, to work out the details of ownership. Ironically, both the rich and the communists dream of statelessness. And both of them end up fascists.
I’ve always wondered why folks who have more than they can ever use/spend/need feel the drive to obtain more more more…came across this Atlantic article…hmmm…maybe it’s the “affluenza virus”??
https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/12/rich-people-happy-money/577231/?gift=sSzZfzMZYfV-4saFL76y0mZBxIW22yAoMKW02G4rCyg&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
I think simple greed explains most of this. The Atlantic article was consistent with an article I read about 15 years ago wherein it mattered not whether a millionaire was worth 10 million or 5 million or 500 million. The millionaires uniformly felt that they had not quite arrived yet at being rich enough and that perhaps they would be content if they reached about, say, 15% more than they already had. It’s never enough for the greedy.
It’s never enough and it will never be enough. It is enabling their subversion of our government for their policies and is nothing more than legalized bribery.
What needs exploring IMO is the very long intertwined and layered story of the conflux of Western religions, and corporatism. A very deep subject...
My guess is white male supremacy.
Corporatism reflects economic policy and its role in politics. Religion is pure politics, or contra-politics, and was supposed to have been bannished from the state. We aren't there yet.
Very insightful and spooky, James. Many thanks.
WOW! Food for thought.
One could say they either have no self that is self-recognized to live with, or their self-valuing excludes the rest of the world, which is why they often end up doing each other in. How ridiculous. And completely unsustainable which tells me they have no foresight at all, wearing rich blinders...
Do you seriously believe they even care…besides…who’s going to hold their feet to the fire?????
Hopefully, independents will hold their toes to the fire.
Hope- “Arundhati Roy writes that the world's 500 billionaires…”
“As of April 2024, the United States had 813 billionaires, a record-breaking number. This is more than any other country, with China in second place with 473. The combined wealth of the US billionaires is estimated to be $5.7 trillion. “
-Forbes
Forbes also completely ignores the massive increase in poverty, homelessness and in income inequality, all of which pose threats to our political system,
When I was in a prominent MBA program in the 1970s we were being taught how to psyche consumers into buying products they didn’t want or need; how to avoid paying taxes; how to exploit workers and how to analyze cultures, identify their weaknesses and profit from their ignorance.
The professor for the International Business course gave me a F because I outlined some humane approaches in my essay for the final exam.
American capitalism may benefit a few but it certainly forces the many to struggle for a decent life. The corruption we live with today is breathtaking.
Thank you! As an aging person, I remember that astounding statistic from a while ago. I had no idea wealth had become that outrageous. Also, isn't Russia among them? Putin is reputedly the world's wealthiest man, but he slyly spreads his wealth in difficult-to-detect investments.
Don’t forget “The Firm” otherwise known as the British Royal Family. Consider the Commonwealth; just the land that it holds has an incalculable value and we won’t go into everything else the RF possesses. Because they’re our closest friends and allies, we can find ourselves overlooking them.
I don't know who put out this video but it's impressive!
https://x.com/NickKnudsenUS/status/1798744408424337458
Wow! That was mind-blowing!
Good god! I knew it was bad but this is atrocious. Thanks for the link though. I’ll pass it around.
AMAZING! AND DISHEARTENING. TY!
Senate Democrats, lead by the formidable Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse have been trying to vote to issue a subpoena of Harlan Crowe and Leonard Leo. Republicans lead by Sen. Lindsay Graham have responded by jamming the process with over 90 amendments including demands to subpoena Justice Sotomayor (concerning the promotion of a book she wrote.)
"The subpoenas, which would be sent to Crow and Leo, demand a list of all transportation and lodging provided to any justices and their relatives; occasions in which they provided entrance to any members-only clubs and all gifts or payments provided to any justice worth more than $415, which is the maximum value allowed for unreported gifts to judges and justices.
“In order to inform our legislative efforts to establish an effective code of conduct, Congress needs to understand the full scope of the court’s ethical crisis,” Durbin said in his opening remarks, before the vote was delayed. “This is the legislative purpose for all the committee’s inquiries in this matter, including the subpoena authorization I’m requesting today.”
https://wapo.st/3KyNnbX
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/07/us/politics/senate-democrats-supreme-court-ethics.html?unlocked_article_code=1.yE0.8P_2.uwfwsxzzM21w&smid=url-share
Senator Whitehouse (D-R.I.) is a great legislator; would like to see him in the White House. 🗽This discussion comes from two years ago. ⚖️ When, I believe, Justice Jackson was nominated. 🤔 Sweeping indictment of the, as someone recently wrote, 'Extreme Court'. 🤢
https://www.c-span.org/video/?c5010131/user-clip-free-speech-corruption
'Extreme Court' accurately describes the current supreme court.
Yes, the six horse riders of the Apocalypse.
Pam, the term "Supremely Corrupt" also applies.
I live in Japan and we can go to our local tax office where we can get free help to prepare and file our taxes. But in order to file my US taxes it costs me between $300 and $600 every year because it’s so complicated I can’t even begin to know where to start. And I’ve never even made enough income to ever have to pay any US taxes. But for 30+ years I’ve had to file my US tax returns. It would have been so nice if I could have saved that money instead. Even so those of us living abroad are threatened that we will be refused entry to the US if we haven’t filed our tax returns. At this point, I never intend to go back there again. I deeply envy Canadians and most other countries citizens who don’t have to pay their country’s tax if they live abroad. Only Americans are double taxed.
The corruption in America is nauseating. Can Biden and team convince the many brainwashed citizens to change the course of the country to benefit average Americans instead of the insatiably greedy billionaires?
G-D only knows if the messages can get through to the cognitive under-class -- a cohort that has many educated people in it -- but I am not optimistic.
“ The cognitive underclass”. There it is again Ned. 👍🏅 How much do you want for a license to use this phrase without attribution? Asking for a friend.
I do like that phrase, Ned. I had thought (early in the fpotus's first term) that the cognitive dissonance that (I assumed) had to be in the minds of my former work cohort supporting a serial rapist and thief as President would be overwhelming. BUT: cognitive underclass certainly does explain that part.
Bit of a sidebar, but kinda on topic. The MAGAt reaction in the retired law enforcement cadre that makes up about a quarter of my social media connections to the deadly force admonition in the Merde a Lardo search warrant (present in every search warrant) was freaking stunning. These guys (most of them) all have written and executed search warrants. There are ALWAYS guidelines around use of force built in. There they were, trumpeting the "shoot on sight" carp they were fed by their "news sources", sounding like good little MAGAts. It illustrated to me that whatever the cognitive dissonance potential was, it was superseded by something; it can be described quite nicely by cognitive under-class.
Ally, as always, you make an incisive insight. The cognitive under-class is not about stupidity or ignorance per se; I hesitate making that kind of judgement against anyone. As you point out in your thinking, it is willful stupidity and ignorance by people, the (likely large) majority of whom know better. Senator Shady J.D. is top of that list.
<blush>
Remember that it is a mathmatical fact that 50% of the population will always be below average in intelligence, I point that out not to disparage or discourage people but to remind everyone that presentating information in a simple, clear, and understandable manner will help people understand each other a bit better. Intelligence alone does not determine the ability of most people to understand facts and relationships.We all have to work hard to get the facts that underlie our opinions across to others.
Well said, clear even to his 'eminent brilliance' (i.e., me). 😉
EDIT: I always chuckle at the memory of reading about some poll that found that half of the Americas surveyed think they are in the top ten per cent of their country(wo)men in native intelligence. 😊
I feel your pain as an American living in the UK for the past 40+years. The US and only one other country does this.
While I could not agree with you more, I would not hold your breath. By the way, I live in Japan too, and you're getting a bargain on the fees you pay to file your tax documents with the IRS. While Japan and the U.S. have a tax treaty that eliminates double taxation, the paperwork is so complicated that you have to be a tax accountant to figure it out.
For those of you who live abroad…do you pay taxes to your host country as well?
Yes I do. We have a US France tax treaty so for the most part you are not taxed twice. I didn’t realize living in France though that my dividends from Vanguards international stock fund would not count as US based income. So u will have to pay French taxes on that which I can claim as a credit on the US side. It is complicated but if you look into it and learn well - chat GPT has been helpful. I got a full free hour of advice from the local tax office in person.
Yes, the filing deadline in Japan, for example, is March 15, and income tax is collected at the end of April. As others have noted, since the US has tax treaties with many countries, the chances of being double taxed are low. However, it costs extra money to have accountants help with the complicated calculations.
We have ever-so-slightly complicated tax filings (due to the way this country's system slices/dices forms and sources of 'income' for purposes of reducing the hit to those with the cash, and our tenuous grip within it) so we pay our nephew to take all the numbers and crunch 'em up but good. At the end of the day, we sleep easier because 1) job well done, and 2) we keep the expense within the family.
We have to report our assets and income from another country, but we are not double taxed on them. The taxes we pay in Italy are all that we pay on those funds. We don’t have very much money in that account, and maybe it’s different for the very wealthy. It doesn’t affect the amount of taxes we owe, but having our accountant fill out the form is expensive. So much so that we have considered closing our account, even though it’s useful when we’re visiting.
On the other hand, these rules have been in place for a long time, and were widely ignored until the US began requiring that foreign banks report US holdings to the IRS, including from Switzerland. I think I’m ok with that, with trying to limit people avoiding taxes by having secret foreign bank accounts.
But you can renounce citizenship for a pretty sum and be done with the filings… no? I am sorry it has been so hard for you.
Agreed! My spouse has dual Cdn/US citizenship and resides in Canada. Every year it costs her $600 to file US taxes. She neither lives nor works in the US so there is nothing payable. It’s a big un-necessary expense!
"Instead, they maintained that the best way to nurture the economy was to support the “supply side”: those at the top. '
It is unclear to me what those at the top are actually supplying. In any case, the real work is overwhelmingly done by labor, i.e., workers. And curiouser and curiouser, the "demand side" in primarily ordinary people who happen to be workers. Is there any possibility that "the supply side" and the demand side are in fact "We the People"? Yes, there are some talented and competent people who make a great deal of money because of it, but is the actual, personal productivity, not of a company but of it's CEO really as many times that of an ordinary worker that you might expect from their pay? Pre-Reagan , American products were admired around the world, yet CEOs, compared to average employees were paid far less. It sure looks like a con to me.
Whether supply or demand, whether stakeholder, management, or labor, every single penny of profit that flows upward was paid for by every single participant in the economy. Profits alone are the source of all tax dollars. It was and is the people's money from the start. Who is going to tell the people?
That’s because it is, and we don’t manufacture much anymore. Many of our products are not made to last, and we have had no right to fix them if they break.
Or are made to be irreparable. Apple has made it's equipment so that it will not work if repaired by anyone but Apple, even with official Apple parts. I have read in the press a least two articles that say that consumers cannot change batteries in a cell phone because then the phone would not be water resistant. BS. There is not a bit of truth in that. Better than recycle is repairable, upgradeable, and built to last. What is the cost to our environment to make even expensive appliances that are essentially designed to be thrown away?
And in the end, I have two questions.
¿Whose natural resources are they?
¿Whose profits are they?
The entire wealth of the nation, all of it, belongs to the people. The people decide how much is retained and by whom. That's why the Republican oligarchy is getting so desperate. They know they are thieves and they know we will eventually wise up, as FDR did.
Since the economic machine of the nation has shifted substantially away from "thing" and "service" production to "money" production, Labor (that is, traditional understandings of the people who do the work) has become less important. Because money production does not require near as much Labor per $trillion accrued. The soon to be perfect response of society, legislators and Il Corte di Tutti Corti is that fruits of Labor remain taxable, but fruits of pure (as the driven snow) moneymaking are not.
We get the government we deserve, as they say, but I do not remember signing up for the 'punch down, not up' program.
I distinguish between those who make money and those who control money (at this point I am one of the latter, living on investments in retirement, but my control is very limited). I distinguish between "job creators" and "job controllers". The most important group of "job creators" are the great mass of worker/consumers with money to spend, AKA "the market". People who hire to respond to that market, not as a hobby. (Thus giving wealthy people even more money proves not to create many jobs. It more likely goes into consolidating and "downsizing" staff, and creating monopolies.)
"Labor is prior to and independent of capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. Capital has its rights, which are as worthy of protection as any other rights. Nor is it denied that there is, and probably always will be, a relation between labor and capital producing mutual benefits. " - Lincoln
"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both” - Louis Brandeis
P.S., great responses, James and Bern, to a rhetorical question.
It's all explained in detail on Art Laffer's napkin.
Seeing the two putzes together as the orange turd hung a medal around the neck of the smirking fool really has stuck with me. As you can tell.
Random fact: Most of what I know about Arthur Laffer I learned in Rural Crime Abatement Training. He farmed palm trees in Rancho Santa Fe. People kept stealing them, then fencing them to some guy up the road in Bonsall. Big money in palms.
And the joke was on us! Art was Laffing all the way to the bank.
ICYMI, I think you'll be impressed by this:
https://x.com/NickKnudsenUS/status/1798744408424337458
🤯🤬
Another epic letter, HCR. It is so profoundly important to spread this information.
Wish it was on Fox
I was looking for my laugh emoji.
Read yesterday that Rupert dear has married again. At 93 to a woman who is sixty something.
Well, he probably just couldn't find a 40-something.
I recently discovered that on my non-Apple laptop (I guess they're still called PC machines) that a right click will let you access emojis.
Jen: 🤣😂
Jeri: 🤮🤢
I was today years old when I learned this! Thanks, Ally😎
I've known for about 6 months. It was pretty cool to figure it out. I also learned how to put the dot in the right place for fellow reader lin•.
I have, for quite some time, used 🍊💩 for tfcf on my phone, because I can't stand to type his name. Now I can do it here! My seventh grade self thanks you
I assume that’s why I couldn’t figure out how some of you were adding emojis since I’m on an iPad. Lots of things I can’t figure out.
Wow! I had no idea 🤦♀️👩🦳😄
What to do with an iPad?
Same as with iPhone. Emoji icon at bottom of keyboard
I just have an iPhone (only just got an iPad for music reading, and I am still fumbling about on it.
I was looking for my puke emoji. At least his first four kids will be just as heinous as he is. A pox on them all, and the women who love to love evil.
Here it is! 🤮
Wow, didn’t know there was one. Thanks, sorry that it’s so needed.
Well that is quite a report! Now President Biden can look into the camera on 27jun24 and say, "When you go to vote this autumn, please ask yourself: 'Am I better off now than I was four years ago?'"
🥳
That may not bring back the alienated Reagan Democrats, but with adroit messaging, President Biden may woo them away from Trump in favor of Bobby Kennedy.
⚖️
And onto Justice Thomas. Disliked him and felt he was unfit for the Supreme Court before the Anita Hill scandal broke. He has a weird relationship with power. Justice Thomas deemed COL Oliver North a patriotic American.
Or, after 4+ decades of Reaganomics, who is better off because of it? And who is not?
Economists estimate that between 1981 and 2021, more than $50 trillion dollars moved from the bottom 90% of Americans to the top 1%.
Were it only 5 trillion rather than ~50 flowing from our pockets to theirs, was that the deal people voted for Was it worth losing defined benefit pensions, massive job loss to off-shoring, indenturing college students, struggling school budgets, "Gig" employment, crumbling infrastructure, climate chaos, etc, and a less secure, and far less optimistic way of life on Main St. just to pay for the parties on Wall St.???
Reaganomics ruined this country, and even as a 17 year old, I could see it would do so.
Under the snake-oil sales pitch was contempt for the difficult yet just democratic process, and the lie that those who accumulate the most wealth are naturally best equipped and best skilled to lead the nation. It's the augments from feudal aristocracy in modern dress.
Great litany of HELL NOs, J.L.
You paint a good picture of what the past 40 years have brought us! Add to this the roll back of our rights and corrupted courts.
Imagine what the next 40 years will
look like if DJT and the Rs win!
Assuming our species would make it another 40, and I'm not entirely joking. we are quickly running out of wiggle room to act responsibly and effectively to blunt multiple threats of our own making.
If. That's not a world I can live in.
Not if I can help it! If we all put our shoulders together and push, hard, and shove this guy by our votes off the path to the WH!!!!
Adroit messaging - do Dems even know there is such a thing. Doing a great job is fine, but propaganda spews the opposite message. Get louder or better Dems, or the great job Joe is doing will pass under the radar. mSM is currently useless…
Have a look at the way he's being presented on YouTube ("Jill Biden has to drag him away..." "Jill Biden seems to escort him away") (at Normandy). Nothing about his superb speech.
That amounts to America cutting off its nose to spite its face.
As an octogenarian, very aware of all those years in midlife when, nose to the grindstone, I could perceive our besetting problems but hadn't the free time to think them through, I feel personally insulted by the gross disrespect for the President.
So do I, and President Obama endured a great deal of racist meanness and insults from the public and Republican politicians. The Obamas behaved with much class and intelligence, even though it had to hurt them a great deal.
I can’t imagine how hard it was to suffer the nonsense from so many “lessers.” It made me realize what crap blacks have had to endure, well, forever. So weird since Africa is the origin from which all of our branches sprang; and we all are the descendants. Sort of like the child embarrassed by his uncool parents.
And they are still maligned although they outclass any Repub these days.
Compassionate, compelling point, Jeri; thank you for the reminder. ⚖️
I have always been iffy on Netanyahu. Again, his coming to Congress without the invitation or presence of the sitting President -- as the G.O.P. did, worse, with President Obama -- is insulting.
How do you say "Putin" in Hebrew?
Ever since I read that Nitwityahoo slept in Jared Kushner's bed I assumed he was corrupt to the core.
They look for any opportunity to denigrate him. This crowd would have cut FDR to ribbons.
Another compassionate, compelling, shattering point; bullies are not known for winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Lenin Peace Prize, yes; Nobel Peace Prize, no.
Who wins Pulitzer’s these days?
All those once-great prizes are now meaningless.
I used to use YouTube for what's loosely called classical music. Only. It's getting harder and harder to find.
They should also remind people 4 years ago they were in a nation crippled by one of the worst responses to the Pandemic. US had one of the highest death rates and the economic recovery to the failed Trump response was the best in the world under Biden.
Wooing back white working class men is a losing strategy. The Democratic leadership needs to appreciate and appeal to the needs of their own party members. I’m presently reading Rachel Bitecofer’s “Hit ‘Em Where It Hurts” and would recommend it to the leadership and all members of the public. Dr. Bitecofer is a political scientist and professor whose advice works.
I agree. That is why President Biden would be well advised -- if possible and through anonymous surrogates -- to peel away those voters from Trump to Bobby Kennedy, Jr. Yes, he has enough 'Trumposis' in him to speak to angry paranoiacs. Yes, he has enough of his father in him to be a fundamentally decent and altruistic individual (who gives a hoot about working class people).
I think you may be right. Or am I grasping at a straw?
I will be able to tell you soon enough if we are grasping at straws; my hay fever will have me sneezing. 😉🤔😯🤭🤫
Thoughts and prayers have proven useless. Real action is needed. Hold your breath and with your finger held horizontally under your nose, press upwards, hard. Count to five, and repeat at first sign of onset.
Cracked me up. Thank you, Anne-Louise (pretty combo-name by the way).
Thank you Professor Richardson.
The economic indicators such as wage growth versus inflation and unemployment figures are notable, important, and establish a foundation for a resilient and vibrant economy (as opposed to trading short-term results for long-term weakness and uncertainty). Supply-side or, more commonly, "Trickle-down economics" should not be characterized as a form of economics at all. It is truly a massive fraud perpetrated by the wealthy through their shills in the MAGA/GOP upon the majority of Americans.
While it is important to continue to share news, statistics, and indicators, I also worry that it makes people who have been struggling through multiple generations feel less understood. I think there's nuance and the indicators should be tempered with statements saying that this is positive, however it does not account for generations of Reagan/Bush/Trump/MAGA-fraudnomics.
When it is not carefully communicated, it creates more anger, frustration, and despair -making people more susceptible to the steady stream of lies, propaganda, and disinformation from MAGA/GOP, and their marketing staff at Fox 'News' and other outlets.
In the sentence "Over the past year, average hourly earnings have grown 4.1%, higher than the rate of inflation, which was 3.4% over the same period." While it is welcome and positive news, especially in light of post-COVID economic recovery, Putin's war criminal actions in Ukraine causing upward price pressure in the global energy market, and runaway greed as U.S. corporate executives exploit the opportunity provided in volatile markets in retail, Big Oil, groceries, and more, people struggling through multiple generations living paycheck to paycheck are unlikely to be inspired with a net year over year gain of 0.7%. And any increase in wages has, over the past few generations, been consumed by student loan debt (a legacy of Reagan and the GOP), the unabated rise in healthcare costs and the shift of healthcare insurance payments to employees, rising rents, and more.
So the rise in anger among the MAGA/GOP base is justified (as it is in other communities as well) -however, the investment in "Manufacturing Consent" in misdirecting anger has provided a tremendous return on investment for the obscenely wealthy -as people direct their anger, not against those responsible for the loss of upward mobility and opportunity in America -however, against those who continue to attempt to provide incremental relief.
There are also corporations who have decided greedflation is an appropriate practice, and we still have to start strongly reenforcing our antitrust and antimonopoly statutes. We have failed to do so for 40 years and it hits us in the wallet every day.
Indeed Kathy. I know that in previous LFAA's Heather has talked about the Biden/Harris Administration's work to go after monopolistic behavior. It's another arena where MAGA/GOP (and pre-MAGA/GOP) hypocrisy runs deep. They talk about the 'free market' (which doesn't exist) solving all societal problems -and yet take a complete hands-off approach when the competition (an important factor in balancing a so-called free market) is stifled through mergers, acquisitions, and industry collusion.
This is correct. “Free markets” exist in the imagination of true believers in unregulated capitalism. They don’t solve societal problems, they make them worse. They must be regulated so all can benefit. The free marketeers also forget that markets are a human creation and don’t exist in a state of nature.
Did you see the reporting that Biden did a very clever? Probably not, it was poorly covered.
It was a masterful manipulation of the crude oil markets, when he sold off a big chunk of the petroleum reserve when the Saudis told him to pound sand when he asked them to increase production to lower prices.
So he came home and flooded the market with several million barrels of crude.
It dropped world oil prices by a third, and he refilled the reserve with lower cost crude, earning the US half a billion dollars in the transaction. And letting the OPEC folks know if they gouge he can easily do it again.
It was brilliant.
Thanks for sharing Jen. Behind the scenes economic chess.
George, You have done a brilliant job of largely explaining why a huge swath of people pretty much have given up on a promise and think that the easy promises of a dictator will alleviate their grievances. Were Democratic leadership to fail to adjust their rhetoric, as you have suggested, the odds, after November, of a continuation of the United States of America, in my view, could diminish. The foregoing notwithstanding, I would add, due to your comment, I expect my letters on this matter to have a better shot at exerting greater influence. Hence, I thank you for writing.
Thank you Barbara Jo. I think it continues to be important to understand the anger, frustration, and despair are real -just intentionally and strategically misdirected. When we don't acknowledge this growing wave -I think, behaviorally, we add to it.
George, I agree and would add that Democrats need to go where the trouble is in this country, trouble that Trump and his sycophants are stoking, and show, particularly those who doubt Democrats care about them, their readiness to work jointly to resolve legitimate grievances.
ICYMI: https://x.com/NickKnudsenUS/status/1798744408424337458
Thanks for the letter.
Things be better for the little people.
Oh yeah, guess the stock market didn't crash after donvict became a felon.
Whoo hoo.
Except that the Trump Media share price fell.
Sad
Trump‘s pennystock is still hovering around $46 a share. It’s considered a meme stock. The meme is that it lacks any real foundation in fundamentals with regard to value. The fact of the matter is that Trump has pulled it off again and made millions with yet another grift. The little people who invested in this stock (the cognitive underclass as Ned McDoodle so eloquently puts it) will ride it all the way to the bottom. And they’ll think that their losses are somebody else’s fault… that the system was rigged against them. Rinse and repeat.
Not surprising because it’s another one of Trump’s scams. Trump’s whole life has been a scam.
Scams protected by his huge inheritance. I'm not sure he is clever enough to make it as a crook on his own. He knows how to play into narcissism though.
I’m surprised that Randy Rainbow hasn’t yet done a song about it all—“Scamalot”! So so so many riffs to choose from!
I love Randy Rainbow!
I offer the following suggestion to Judge Juan Merchan in the upcoming sentencing of DJ Trump.
First, he should offer Trump the opportunity to address the court before any sentencing and make no comments. Afterwards, the Judge should list Trump’s behavior outbursts over the past several weeks including today’s if any, noting the growing increase in violence and revenge in his statements, even when there is a medically trained person suggesting that Trump take a less violent position. Accordingly, the judge should suspend sentencing and order that Trump submit to undergo immediately a psychiatric evaluation for several days at a state-controlled institution and set a date for reconvening after the medical staff can submit their written evaluation of Trump’s ability to stand for sentencing. The ex-President needs rest and help now.
Paul, what an excellent, nuanced, powerful recommendation to Judge Merchan. Let's hope he reads such comments to Helen's column!
The only way to defeat Trump, at this point in the campaign cycle, is to put out the strong, alternative narrative that the poor orange hero is just no longer up to the job...his knee-jerk reactions will be more proof-positive of such.
He will be determined "incompetent" in all 6 domains of independent function.
But if tRump is found mentally ill or mentally incapacitated that would give his team an excuse for his disgusting behavior and to keep him out of prison.
I think he has serious personality disorders which are evident from his public behavior and tirades. I also suspect he may have the start of dementia, which explains why Trump was throwing shade at President Biden as “Dementia Joe.” President Biden may make gaffes and has a deliberate manner of speaking that he used to overcome his stuttering, but he is of sound mind and takes better physical care of himself than Trump does. Trump doesn’t exercise and subsists on a diet of fast food.
That's ok if it keeps him out of office, where he never belonged in the first place.
And there's still the documents case and Jan6. He might avoid prison on the basis of mental incompetence. It's better than the excuse of being president
Paul, Excellent suggestions!!
Damn, Joe must have run across that quote from Will Rogers from November 26, 1932. “The money was always appropriated for the top in the hopes that it would trickle down to the needy. Mr. Hoover didn’t know that money trickled up. Give it to the people at the bottom and the people at the top will have it before night, anyhow. But it will at least have passed through the poor fellow’s hands.”
Repubs have been taking care of the rich way before Reagan made it his cause. Black Clarence figured out a way to get in on the gravy train. A traitor to his race, what I call any sell out to the white boy, rich, power club.
For some reason, Tim Scott comes to mind.
You can also include Byron Donalds of Florida in that deluded crowd.
Fine example, but there are plenty for whom Green is the primary color.
https://baptistnews.com/article/yes-tim-scott-is-a-black-man-but-hes-still-promoting-christian-nationalism/
Why the astonishing, continuous, flagrant corruption from Clarence?
Let's dismiss the first, most obvious reason. He loves the money. He feels himself entitled to luxury. This is obvious. He's obviously corrupt in this way.
But there's a deeper reason. Clarence, like most Republicans, knows zero novels, memoirs, films, songs, or other arts. He's thus desensitized. Neutered. Empty as a human being, he can live in his cynical abstractions. Indifferent to the pain and other complications which so many of our great arts poignantly document.
Being dehumanized helps to defer to, suck up to the moneyed classes. One is basically stupid as to the rest of American life, though which he coasts in the luxury RV gifted to him by those who well know how to bribe.
We have so many elites so stupid, so corrupt.
I doubt many of us would have survived his childhood, and on some level the fact that he made it through an Ivy law school is amazing. But Republicans saw his vulnerability and indulged it to their advantage. Anita Hill was just collateral damage. He's a perfect vessel for their many needs, and Ginni needs to be held accountable as well. I always wonder what is behind their anti-abortion and birth control positions, since they've never had children.
How about greed? Let’s try that on and see if it fits. Oh it fits perfectly!
Kids, progwoman -- they make many demands.
If you're a parent, and you have kids, you need to be attentive, you need to be measured, that is, specifically aware of some basic things, and open to things you maybe weren't expecting.
Much easier just to skip all that, and aim for power, where one can package all of life for others (as Clarence loves doing in ruling his packages will fit all women as he intends, and eff them for any choices as in a real democracy they might be able to make).
So much easier to live with idiot abstractions, and take money -- lots of it, always corruptly so -- from the vulgar rich, helping to keep them in their vulgarities, and float oneself, one's packaged rulings, one's fantastically vast corruptions.
I wish I could remember which of the PBS programs profiled Thomas maybe a decade ago, but he was born into shockingly abject poverty, and someone in his family (father? uncle? I can't remember) got him into a Catholic school hoping he'd become a priest. I'm not so sure of the details any more, but it launched hm eventually into the same Yale law school class as Hillary and Bill Clinton and Robert Reich, who reported that he never returned his morning greeting. It seems clear (at least to me) that the bitterness runs deep and contributed to his sense of entitlement.
Sadly I think it's behind my daughter's conviction to never have children.
.her father is very wealthy (something I didn't know when I divorced him), with inherited money from slavery. He already bought her a $2m house-- which he holds title to. Ugly.
Oh. Please ! Many black children survived their childhoods ( Barack Obama for one) and grew up to be fine people with important jobs and national influence ( Martin Luther King). Clarence Thomas is not one of them ! As events unfold, examples of his mendacity become apparent. Added to the actions of his wife and the flag flying Alitos we see a Court that is not the norm and, certainly NOT the ideal. He must go ! Like McCarthy ,Thomas has no decency at all.
What the two men have in common is that they are regarded as African American. Obama's mother was white, educated and middle class, and his father studied here before returning to Africa. Clarence Thomas was born into the kind of Jim Crow poverty in Savannah that should have never been allowed. I wish you could see the photos of where he lived with his mother. It's a mistake to think that every black child is equally advantaged/disadvantabed.
Really ? Try looking at housing conditions in the South Bronx, in parts of Newark or in the shelters holding migrant children in NYC. Anyplace that has children living way under the poverty level. Clarence Thomas is a crook ! I don’t care where he came from. He got here and he corrupted himself. Anita Hill was right.And Barack Obama identifies as black and when he was first elected that stadium was filled with the happiest black people I have ever seen ! Of every hue !!!
Perhaps they are not paying attention to all the viagra, ED, and peroni (?) disease commercials on TV. There is a lot of health info out there for men.
I was curious and looked it up: Peyronie's Disease: The first three entries on Google were from pharmaceutical companies and the fourth was AI generated. The fifth was from the Mayo Clinic. Inquiring minds can research further if desired.
I have always been angered by the fact that Viagra was covered by insurance but any female birth control medications were not.
NOTE: Way, way more that I would say, but deciding not to be snarky. I'll go pour that second cuppa coffee now. Maybe the snark will come back.
Nauseatingly so. My TV is lucky to still be intact.
Clarence Thomas is an intelligent man who has chosen to be greedy, reactionary and self-serving. He complained several years ago that he wasn’t paid enough as a member of the Supreme Court, and taking gifts from Harlan Crow has allowed Thomas to indulge in the luxury he thinks he deserves.
Spot on, Kathy!
In the words of Tim Grimm, "he has no poetry inside to make him whole. Damn that man"
They're elite??
Charming objection, Anne-Louise.
But they're rich. They have power.
Oh. And I'd been thinking I was elite. Oh well.
I write largely to note, while the billionaire class has thrived under the current Administration and would continue to do so even with added regulations and modest tax increases, this cadre mostly has gone all in with Trump both to increase their wealth and their hold over more levers of power.
Some have argued that democracy and capitalism are at odds, claiming we can have one or the other, but not both. I would beg to differ and, instead, would assert that there must be prescribed forms of public accountability for entities that have a disproportionate amount of wealth, power, and influence. This is not a matter of demonizing said entities, but an issue of democratic survival, wherein it is vital to inquire when moneyed interests must be subordinated to the public interest.
Correct. Louis Brandeis saw this clearly during the Progressive Era (progressive for some) when he noted that we could have democracy or huge accumulation of private wealth, but we could not have both. FDR understood this as well. The tragedy is that these efforts left out people traditionally expected to be kept politically and financially down and out.
Kathy, You’re right. Hence the urgency, especially in battleground states, of engaging in races up and down the ballot to elect increasingly more progressives committed to increasingly more social and economic justice for increasingly more people who feel overwhelmed and marginalized by institutionally oppressive forces largely beyond their individual control.
Well regulated capitalism is a decent form of economic model. It has nothing to do with democracy, except in the regulation, where these two different philosophies intersect.
What we have is the cancer stage of capitalism, where it eats itself.
Jen, In my view, capitalism—individual, vs. state, ownership of the means of production—is intrinsically connected with democracy. But, as we all know, it’s not very good at distribution unless wedded to social democratic institutions that contain its excesses and moderate its self-serving impulses.
Please elaborate
Thank you for presenting the big picture by connecting the dots between the Clarence Thomas scandal and supply-side economics (and its corollary, trickle-down economics). As George Conway points out, I would be curious to know how much Justice Thomas owes in back taxes based on these previously unreported gifts.
And fines!
Absolutely! He should be treated just like any other American citizen.
I would like to take this opportunity to invite you all to join me, beginning next Saturday, on my new Substack page, written from my heart/mind of my path through nearly seven decades of self refflection, zen teachings and navigating these challenging times.
Starting Saturday June 15
Nonviolent Testosterone
Creating A Peaceful Life Begins With A Peaceful Heart/Mind
One man's journey to finding peace in a turbulent world
I will journal early morning from my path of meditation, zen teachings and my lived experience of nearly 70 years. I invite you to join me on a journey, meant to be shared from our lives of interdependence.
I will focus on A Month of Interdependence, beginning July 1, with a delve into the beautiful one page summation of The Heart Sutra, the core of zen teachings. Thanks for your consideration.
Everyone is Welcome.
Thank you for the invitation.