#Tax-free withdrawals

[pupkinpumpkin]

Anytime I replay DAI and I get to that first conversation with Vivienne back at Haven, I take a long inhale Everytime she asks what I think about doing with the mages.

Like I know my Inky has not thought about this too much. She just knows her clan, but I think about it constantly and no answer I am offered is good enough to assuage my long rant that I yell at the computer for like 8 straight minutes before I choose the Mages Should Be Free line and get the inevitable Vivienne Greatly Disapproves

I love Vivienne a lot, I do, even with the differing political views, but Jesus Christ girlie pop never ask me that question again because I will go off Every Single Time

[pendragonsclotpole]

succession but bruce wayne is 45 and tired of having to attend pointless board meetings when he’d much rather be plotting how to get rid of all the stupid money he has (he’s tried everything, invested all of his funds into gotham, secretly funded the justice league and hid it from his tax returns in hopes that the irs would bust him. spoiler: they don’t, they consider his anonymous donations to be charity AND WRITE HIM TAX BREAKS. he’s even given everyone at WE a living wage, offered free daycare, amazing healthcare, in hopes of making running WE so expensive it drives down profits, but all it does it ramp of productivity and stock prices. he’s in too deep. let one of his children handle it pls).

candidate #1: dick grayson-wayne, bruce wayne’s eldest boy, former cop, circus acrobat, college dropout and style icon (TM). he immediately takes himself out of the running when a pap keeps calling him “richard” and he shouts back “dick.” that’s his name, but no one cares. also his pics from his mullet era resurface. the world is never the same again and the board summarily agrees he’s too divisive.

candidate #2: jason todd-wayne. initially the main contender when alleged footage of him breaking into a very important wayne warehouse leaks. he’s shouting “reclaim the means of production.” wayne enterprise stock falls but the internet is in favor. he’s unfortunately taken out of the running as all legal records indicate—he’s dead? but there’s cute footage of a 13 year old jason todd ardently defending the historical accuracy and superb writing of jane austen’s pride and prejudice. he loudly proclaims he’ll marry mr. darcy at the end. his candidacy remains very popular and the internet starts publishing memes about converting to satanism and practicing necromancy to revive jason todd-wayne.

candidate #3: tim drake. a popular front runner for the old guard of gotham as tim’s also the heir of the drake fortune. unfortunately, he runs away screaming every time someone comes up to him asking about the possibility of taking over WE full time. a major scandal breaks out when he’s caught buying something in a shady alleyway, and people are convinced he’s another partying rich boy. until the full footage leaks and it’s revealed he was buying coffee beans from a barista in the alleyway behind a newly opened coffee shop. multiple coffee shops then make posts online that yes, bruce wayne has called each of them and offered them copious sums of money to NOT serve tim drake or anyone representing tim drake caffeinated drinks after 5pm and before 5pm. many of the videos feature framed photographs of fake wanted posters featuring a very tired looking tim. tim, on a caffeine withdrawal posts a tiktok ranting about the injustice of tyrannical parents think this energy:

and the hashtag save tim wayne trends.

candidate #4: damian wayne. except as a twelve year old he’s not really in the running, except he’s the only wayne by blood so some members of the board are gunning for him. one of them kidnaps him, huge mistake, and footage leaks of him chasing his kidnappers with a katana? appears. he’s officially out of the running but it also fuels calls for bruce to be liberated so he can actually parent his children. joke’s on them, damian’s damianess is 99% thanks to richard grayson.

candidate #5: cassandra cain-wayne. she takes herself out of the running but she’s a dark horse because everyone loves her youtube channel Cass Cayne and her business decisions for brand deals are top tier. bruce makes background appearances and the internet learns cass is def the favorite.

candidate #6: stephanie brown. she’s not a wayne? people think? are 99% sure? but like she’s always there? she dated tim drake? maybe? she calls bruce dad!

[jtl-fics]

Math nerd please!

12/11/24 WIP Wednesday (Closed) | Math Nerd AU

But now that was a question.

How was Neil going to be spending his Winter break? He doubts that he has the time free considering the fact that he’ll likely be wrapping up end of the year withdrawals from various accounts to make sure that they fall in this tax year.

Still, for a moment he lets himself think about it.

Wandering around Christmas markets, watching the ball drop in time square, and-

Yeah he’d hate most of that but they could do their own thing together.

Check out this week's WIP Wednesday: HERE

[womanfredvonkarma]

what's happening in argentina?

I don't fault you for the broad question because I'd ask too, but I need you to know that as a non-smoker I've never felt so strongly the need for a cigarette as I did just now thinking about answering this question. But I'll do my best.

In November of last year, the country elected Javier Milei as president. He would swear into office the next month. Javier Milei is a self-identified anarcho-capitalist and libertarian, although he states he is a minarchist in the short term (meaning he thinks the only functions the State should serve are those of law enforcement: no public education, social development, market regulations, etc etc). Some of his most controversial campaign statements included projects to legalise the free and unregulated sale of organs, and, along with his vice-president Victoria Villarruel (who in her youth organised visits to Jorge Rafael Videla in prison), apologia for the 1976 military dictatorship by revindicating the theory of the two demons (fair warning that from what I skimmed that article is biased in favour of the theory) and casting into doubt the estimated 30.000 victims of state terrorism (torture, disappearance followed by death) (also warning that that article uses the name the military junta gave this process) during its duration.

Since he took over six months ago, the population's purchasing power has dropped by 38%, plunging millions of people below the line of poverty. In stark contrast to this, Milei has been travelling around the world using public funds to visit his ultraright idols; most notably, Trump, who is not the political leader of any country at the moment (making his trip to see him a personal visit and not a diplomatic one, thus invalidating his arguments for using our money to go there).

On the subject of diplomacy, his government has been swinging quite a lot of bats at hornets' nests, accusing China and Brazil of communism and insulting the wife of the president of Spain. All of this is an international relations nightmare that will take endless apologies to undo.

Another interesting resolution deregulates the operations of foreign companies, SPVs, and offshore companies (article in Spanish), with the stated goal of attracting investments. Those types of companies have historically been used to conceal illicit activity, so resolutions in that vein pave the way to effectively turn Argentina into a fiscal paradise. This isn't the only problem they pose (offshore companies don't pay taxes, so there'd be a loss in the public sector, for example), but it is the most worrying to me because they also eliminated restrictions for Sociedades de Acciones Simplificadas (simplified stock companies), most of which have historically been used to commit crimes among which is the drug trade. Once you have narcos in your country, there's no taking it back--Argentina would be at real risk of ceasing to exist as we know it.

This administration is also slashing public spending, resulting in some universities suspending their activities temporarily. They also failed to deliver oncological medicine, depriving cancer patients of assistance the state is obligated to provide. As a result of this, several people have died already. In this climate of extreme poverty, soup kitchens have been shutting down en masse due to the withdrawal of state funding, and laws that protected tenants' rights and regulated rent prices have been severely modified to the detriment of the tenants.

The violent decrease in public spending also resulted in thousands of state workers being fired overnight. The attack is especially centred on state organisations that promote the arts or whose purpose is to fight discrimination. On this subject, 10% of the transgender and travesti workers who had their positions guaranteed by the law were fired illegally, and government members are outspoken about their opposition to this law--which isn't surprising. Diana Mondino, the current chancellor, has compared same-sex marriage to "the right to having lice" while she held a position in Congress. Ricardo Bussi, a current legislator, compared homosexuality to disability in October 2023. Coming to this year, Francisco Sánchez, the Secretary of Religion, said that the laws protecting the right to abortions, divorce, and same-sex marriage "seek to pervert our children and damage society". Milei is also on record describing abortion as "homicide aggravated by the bond".

Also recently, Milei's biographer, Nicolás Márquez, gave a one-hour interview in which he characterised homosexuality as a disease, claiming that when the State "promotes homosexuality" (as it allegedly did before Milei came to power), it is aiding a "self-destructive" conduct, supporting these claims with unfounded statistics about the correlation between STIs and homosexuality; he also denied the existence of homophobia and described lesbians and gays as being "against nature". For the sake of full disclosure, I will say he explicitly freed Milei and his government of responsibility for his declarations--but I think it's really important to point out the kind of people and rhetorics this government is giving a platform to; after all, nobody knew Nicolás Márquez before he started writing for Milei. In approximately the same time frame, and in response to a horrific hate crime that resulted in the death of three lesbians, Manuel Adorni, the presidential spokesman, said that he "doesn't like" to talk about a hate crime because men suffer violence too--and he said this in a press conference.

I'm probably forgetting something important--so much has happened in the past months--but I hope this is enough to give you an impression of the changes our society is undergoing. Please let me know if you have follow-up questions. <3

[handsomeamoeba]

I am once again begging for everyone's assistance at this time.

I currently have $57 in the bank. Will probably have around $200 coming in from unemployment in a couple days HOWEVER:

This is my last week of unemployment eligibility, following this week I will have NO income

Rent is coming due ($675)

I still owe a portion of last month's rent ($125)

I've fallen behind on health insurance payments and need to reinstate ($85) in order to see my therapist and get my meds (I am out of them, if I don't get more by tomorrow I'll start having Effexor withdrawals)

I still need to pay off my unpaid excise tax ($114) to renew my license ($50)

I owe my therapist something like $350 as well because my insurer dragged their feet about cutting me off so we had several sessions that appeared to be insured but weren't, but she says she'll discuss a payment plan AFTER I am employed

I am currently housebound because my car is broken. Also, y'know, the license. My dad is a mechanic and will fix it for free but it's going to take him a bit to get to me, so if I have an emergency in the meantime I may need to pay for rideshare.

This isn't really relevant to any of the above but I am currently recovering from a nasty bout of norovirus so that just. That just really. Yeah.

Anyway. Help? https://ko-fi.com/doilyspider

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Andrew Perez at Rolling Stone:

EARLIER THIS WEEK, two Democratic senators announced they have requested a criminal investigation into Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas — regarding, in part, a loan for a luxury RV provided by a longtime executive at UnitedHealth Group, one of America’s largest health insurers. Thomas apparently recused himself in at least two cases involving UnitedHealth when the loan was active, according to a Rolling Stone review. Yet, he separately chose to participate in another health insurance case and authored the court’s unanimous opinion in 2004. The ruling broadly benefited the industry — shielding employer-sponsored health insurers from damages if they refuse to cover certain services and patients are harmed. Thomas’ advice to patients facing such denials? Pull out your checkbook.

While UnitedHealth was not a party to the case, the company belonged to two trade associations that filed a brief urging the Supreme Court to side with the insurers.  “As we saw so starkly this term, Supreme Court decisions can have sweeping collateral implications: If the court rules in favor of one insurance giant, for instance, it tends to be a boon for all the other insurance giants, too,” says Alex Aronson, executive director at the judicial reform group Court Accountability. “That was the case here, and it’s a perfect example of why justices shouldn’t accept gifts — especially secret ones — from industry titans whose interests are implicated, whether directly or indirectly, by their rulings.” The public had no way of knowing about Thomas’ RV loan at the time of the decision: The loan was only exposed by The New York Times last year. Senate Democrats investigating Thomas believe that much or all of the loan, for a $267,230 motor coach, was ultimately forgiven. Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) recently requested the Justice Department investigate whether Thomas reported the forgiven portion of the loan on his tax filings, after he failed to disclose it in ethics forms.

Meanwhile, Thomas’ health insurance opinion has had wide-ranging, long-lasting ramifications, according to Mark DeBofsky, an employee benefits lawyer and former law professor.  “It hasn’t been rectified. The repercussions continue,” DeBofsky tells Rolling Stone. “People who are in dire need of specific medical care, and [their] insurance company turns around and says, ‘That care is not medically necessary,’ and there’s an adverse outcome as a result of the denial of the treatment, or hospitalization, or service — there’s no recompense for what could have been an unnecessary death or serious injury.” Since last year, the Supreme Court has faced an unprecedented ethics crisis, with much of the focus aimed squarely at Thomas. ProPublica reported that Thomas received and failed to disclose two decades worth of luxury gifts from a conservative billionaire, Harlan Crow, who allegedly provided free private jet and superyacht trips to Thomas and his wife; bought a house from Thomas and allowed the justice’s elderly mother to live there for free; and paid for at least two years of boarding school tuition for Thomas’ grandnephew.

[...] Federal law requires Supreme Court justices to recuse themselves in any case where their “impartiality might reasonably be questioned.” The justices decide for themselves when such a move is necessary — and when they do withdraw from a case, they rarely say why. Thomas does not appear to have explained his decision to withdraw from the two matters that directly involved UnitedHealth. Thomas did not take similar steps in Aetna Health Inc. v. Davila, a case that broadly affected the health insurance industry. He instead authored the court’s opinion, which expanded insurers’ favorite tool for limiting liability: ERISA. Congress passed the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, commonly known as ERISA, in 1974 to protect employee benefits. The law is relatively vague when it comes to “welfare benefits,” and contains a broad preemption clause. The courts have filled in the blanks — including in the Aetna Health case — with distressing results for patients. Half of Americans have employer-sponsored health insurance coverage; nearly all of these plans are governed by ERISA.

Rolling Stone exposes how SCOTUS Justice Clarence Thomas received a $267K RV from a health insurance executive.

[mesetacadre]

Latest news from Ukraine

❗️Air Pollution

A dust storm has once again swept across Ukraine, with the highest levels of air pollution recorded in the Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, Cherkasy, Kherson, and Donetsk regions.

❗️Ugledar

Military criticizes the situation on the front: "Ugledar was doomed, but the order to retreat never came," said Voroshnov, an aerial scout from the 72nd Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. According to him, it was impossible to save the city, and everyone knew that "the countdown was in days and hours," but no order for withdrawal was issued. "Where will we retreat to? No one knows. As long as the enemy has the strength to push us back, we will keep moving backward."

Moreover, "Out of 50 recruits sent to reinforce the 72nd Brigade in Ugledar, only four made it to the front lines, and they deserted after the first rotation," said soldier Boyko. He noted that mobilized men aged 52-56 were sent to the brigade, with 30 of them being reassigned to rear units and hospitals due to health issues. Of the remaining 20, 16 deserted on the second day, leaving only four soldiers who also deserted after the first rotation. Boyko describes the loss of Ugledar as a "localized collapse of the front" and claims that similar situations are occurring along the entire front line. He also criticizes and calls for the dismissal of the military leadership of the country.

❗️Salary Reductions and Tax Increases

In October, Ukrainians will receive lower wages due to an increase in the military tax. The law will come into effect after October 15. Until then, advances will still be paid with the military tax at 1.5% (since the law hasn't taken effect yet). However, for the remainder of October, the tax will be 5%, including the advance. Employers won't be able to reclaim the paid advance, so the Ministry of Finance suggests deducting these funds from the final salary payment. As a result, wages will decrease not only by 3.5% due to the tax hike but also by the amount already deducted from the advance.

❗️Freedom of Speech

The restriction on language use in schools will only apply to Russian, while teaching in EU languages or the languages of indigenous peoples alongside the state language will not be considered a violation, according to a new bill. The document also notes that private schools will be able to choose their language of instruction, except for the language of the "aggressor country." The bill will be sent to the relevant committee for review today.

It is also worth noting that Article 10 of the Ukrainian Constitution guarantees the free development, use, and protection of Russian and other minority languages in Ukraine.

❗️Money Laundering

"Energoatom" has ordered protective measures for the South Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant worth nearly 600 million UAH ($16.4 million). According to reports, the construction of engineering protection for critical elements of the station will take over a year. A contract with PJSC "Yuzhenerhrostroi" was signed without an open tender, with the work to be completed by December 25, 2025, according to the media. The contract terms are hidden, given the wartime conditions.

via Union of Communists of Ukraine

[darkmaga-returns]

In the video below, Matt Cullen, an organiser for Fairness for Farmers, announced the protest on 11 December.  “Farmers are going back to London on the 11th of December. But this time with tractors.  That’s right, with tractors,” he said.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/Oo0K4rth9wU?feature=oembedGareth Wyn Jones: Please share far and wide. Farmers on route to London 11th Dec, 28 November 2024 (2 mins)

Last month a convoy of tractors rolled through Dover and thousands of farmers gathered in London to protest against changes to inheritance tax rules as announced in the Labour government’s recent Budget.

Related:

UK government’s tax plans will destroy family farming; farmers to gather in London to protest

Police are blocking the massive farmers’ protest planned for 19 November in London

London Farmers Protest 19 November 2024 Live

Law firm reveals the truth behind the UK’s inheritance tax on farmers: It will free up land for “renewable energy”

The protests were sparked by the proposed 20% inheritance tax on farm assets worth £1 million or more, set to take effect from April 2026.

British farmers argue that the policy, combined with the fast-track withdrawal of the Basic Payment Scheme, increasing farm employer costs and a carbon tax on fertiliser, among other policies, could force families to sell land to cover tax bills, breaking up livelihoods and generations of UK farming businesses, Farmers Weekly reported.

There are also worries within the industry over the impact of future trade deals, substandard food imports and the recent removal of farming grants.

[stephensmithuk]

The Boer War (1899-1902)

If the 1897 Diamond Jubilee is seen as the zenith of the British Empire, the Boer War is arguably the start of its collapse.

There are two conflicts with the name "Boer War", of which the second is by far the better known.

"Boer" is Afrikaans for farmer. The two wars are known as "the Freedom Wars" in the Afrikaans language and "the South African War" in the country itself.

More specifically, the Boers were Dutch farmers who emigrated from the Dutch and then British-controlled Cape Colony north and east into the Transvaal region that is now north-east South Africa, to get away from what they saw as an oppressive government. As well as the fact that the British abolished slavery, which they wanted to keep. So yeah. They were more specifically known as "Trekboers" or travelling farmers. Trek is of course where we get the term Star Trek from.

The first conflict from 1880-1881 started after a farmer refused to pay an illegally inflated tax, had his wagon seized - and his friends then assaulted the auction.

The Boers, better equipped, better trained and far more experienced at shooting than their British opponents, managed to defeat the latter in three major engagements. Unwilling to become engaged in a major conflict, London negotiated a peace deal that gave the South African Republic effectively full control over internal affairs, although the British retained control of external relations. This was the first time the British had lost a war to rebels since the American War of Independence.

Then gold was found in the region and an influx of immigrants, mostly British, turned up, seeking their fortune. Johannesburg emerged as a major community overnight. This caused a lot of tensions, even more so when the government in Praetoria (the SAR capital) denied the 'uitlanders' civil rights.

In 1896, Cape Colony Prime Minister Cecil Rhodes authorised Leander Starr Jameson to conduct a raid into the territory with the aim of triggering a revolution. The raid was badly botched, failed and caused massive embarrassment to the British government, especially when Kaiser Wilhelm II sent a congratulatory telegram to the SAR government... and telegrams showing Rhodes' involvement were found. Jameson, while lionised in the press, spent 15 months in Holloway for the raid.

Shortly after this, the Second Matabele War saw the British have to deal with an uprising by the Ndebele and Shona peoples in what is now Zimbabwe. They defeated it, but with many losses on both sides.

Tensions between the British and the Boers continued to grow after the Jameson Raid; the uitlanders did not see their rights improve, the Boers mistreated the African population, and a lot of the British establishment thought it would be an easy victory. The generals, for their part, did not.

The SAR had acquired high quality weaponry from Germany and France, including bolt-action Mauser rifles. The British Army for its part was in dire need of reform.

The war broke out in 1899 after an ultimatum from SAR leader Paul Kruger for the British to withdraw their forces from the border. The SAR had allied with the Orange Free State by this point.

The Boers had formed civilian militias called "commandos". They launched an invasion of the Natal and Cape Colony, soon putting British garrisons under siege. One notable such siege was at Mafeking, where the British commander was one Robert Baden-Powell, whose use of scouting, along the deception to make his defences look better than they were allowed his force to hold out for 217 days until relieved. He would later use his experience in scouting to form, well, the Scouting Movement.

After a series of major reverses, it was clear the British were going to need to send major reinforcements, recruiting a lot of volunteers - the biggest overseas force Britain had sent to date. They also removed their local commanders and put new ones in.

The sieges were lifted and Praetoria was captured on 5 June 1900 - at which point the Boers (along with foreign volunteers) moved to guerilla warfare, something that they were very adept at, in stark contrast to the British. However, harassment is not the same as taking and holding ground.

Both forces tried to minimise the involvement of people of colour due to fear of what would happen if they armed Africans, but personnel shortages meant they ended up being involved anyway, usually in supporting roles. Mahatma Gandhi, who was a civil rights activist there, formed a corps of volunteer stretcher bearers from the Indian population.

Realising that they were only controlling the territory that they were physically in, the British changed their tactics.

Firstly, they built fortified blockhouses and armoured trains to control their supply routes.

Secondly, the British adopted a "scorched earth" policy; they rounded up Boer and African civilians, placing them in concentration camps, while also systematically destroying farms, crops etc. that the Boer forces could use to supply themselves.

The Spanish had used concentration camps in Cuba earlier in the 19th century, but this was a much wider use. With little or no soap, along with dirty water, disease swept through the overcrowded camps, with over 46,000 dying in them, including a quarter of the Boers in them - African numbers interned were not properly counted. Emily Hobhouse exposed the horrific conditions, and the matter was taken up by domestic politicians. A government commission led by Millicent Fawcett then recommended major improvements, which were largely implemented and brought down the death rate, but the damage had been done by this point.

The brutal tactics were sadly effective; the Boers were beginning to give up. However, the British themselves were running out of time and money, so gave them a generous settlement in the 1902 Treaty of Vereeniging; while the SAR and Orange Free State would be absorbed into the British Empire, Dutch could be used in schools and courts, there would be a general amnesty and reconstruction aid would be given.

Self-government was also promised and granted; it was decided that the issue of black enfranchisement would not be discussed until then - and full enfranchisement would not come until 1993.

The war was controversial in the UK; it was opposed by the opposition Liberal Party. Lord Salisbury called a snap election in 1900 and won with a slightly reduced majority. The next election in 1906 was a massive defeat for them though.

The conflict also exposed the dire state of British public health - with up to 40% of volunteers for the war being rejected on health grounds. This spurred the creation of the National Insurance system.

Arthur Conan Doyle volunteered for military service in the conflict; but was turned down due to his age. Instead, he served for three months in a field hospital and then wrote two books about the conflict. The second one, defending Britain's involvement in the war, was felt by Doyle to be the work that got him his knighthood in 1902.

The war was also notable for one journalist who after being captured by the South Africans, managed to escape from behind enemy lines, using the publicity to get into Parliament on his second attempt. His name was Winston Churchill.

At 2022 values, the war cost Britain over £19.9 billion.

They had also had 26,092 soldiers killed to the Boers 6,189. As with all wars at this time, disease was the biggest killer.

[macgyvermedical]

STABLE Accounts

I don't intend for this to become a social work blog, but sometimes I learn about something that I think could help people.

So you know how if you're receiving SSI in the USA you can only have $2,000 in savings/assets (not including house, car, and medical equipment) or you risk losing those benefits?

If you became disabled before 26, and have been disabled for at least a year, you can have something called a STABLE Account, which essentially raises that ceiling to $102,000.

A STABLE Account is a savings-like account for those receiving SSI. The money in the account is not counted against you for SSI purposes until the amount in the account reaches $100,000.

You can even invest the money if you would like to, and the money you make from the investments is not taxed if you spend the money on qualified expenses.

You can deposit up to $30,590 per year if you're working (17,000 per year if not working) and withdraw the money at any time using a debit card (note that since the account is tax-free there are some requirements as to what the money can be used for, but most everyday expenses count, and you can obviously still use money you don't put in the account however you would like).

Here is the website if you would like to learn more or open an account.

[simply-ivanka]

Why the Left Is Throwing Biden a Lifeline

AOC and Bernie Sanders are betting the President will reward their loyalty in a second term.

Wall Street Journal Editorial July 11, 2024

President Biden is phoning friends across his party to rally support, so pay close attention to who is answering the call. His staunchest defenders are on the left, while moderates in swing districts are asking the President to withdraw from the race. There’s more than 2024 electoral calculation behind this highly revealing political turn.

No one outside the Biden family has been more fiercely pro-Biden since the President’s debate flop than Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The Queens firebrand promised reporters that Mr. Biden won’t leave the race and pledged to campaign for him through Election Day. This show of faith came after she said she “spoke with the President extensively” over the weekend. A Commander in Chief pleading for support from an often critical House backbencher is something to behold.

Another stalwart for the President is Sen. Bernie Sanders, who says he believes Mr. Biden can still win—if he campaigns on the Bernie agenda. Even Rep. Ilhan Omar, who has been denouncing Mr. Biden’s Israel policy for months, is now in the Save Biden camp. This week she said “he’s been the best president of my lifetime, and we have his back.”

There’s an ideological method to this loyalty. Ms. Omar has a point about Mr. Biden’s first term. While the President campaigned as a moderate uniter, in office he has tried to be the second coming of FDR.

Despite losing the 2020 primary to Mr. Biden, Sen. Sanders gave his endorsement in return for Mr. Biden signing up to the Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force. The agenda included drug price controls, an expanded child tax credit, massive green energy commitments, and Build Back Better entitlement expansions. Only Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema stopped him from delivering on more or less the entire Bernie Sanders policy wish list.

If progressives save Mr. Biden now and he goes on to win re-election, the left will be well positioned to cash in again. Mr. Sanders is clear about what he expects in return for sticking with Mr. Biden. In his statement defending the President, he urged Mr. Biden to support a national “living wage,” a payroll tax hike, medical debt cancellation and much more. “Biden and Democrats can win this election if they address the needs of the working class,” he said.

The desperate President is turning to the left because he knows these Democrats don’t face electoral challenges. Progressives are running in safe seats or in Democratic states where Donald Trump has no chance to win. But in his desperation, Mr. Biden is also making a possible second term even more hostage to the left. Bernie and AOC have plenty of unfinished policy business they hope to get done if Democrats control the White House and Congress.

Things will work out for progressives even if Mr. Biden wins but doesn’t make it through the entire four years. Their dream scenario would be for President Biden to win, then retire and pass the Oval Office on to Vice President Kamala Harris, who ran as a whole-hearted progressive in the primaries in 2020.

Mr. Biden’s political vulnerability, and his turn to progressives for a lifeline, raises the policy stakes even higher for the November election. Bernie Sanders may believe social spending is free, but his political fee is steep.

[learnwithmearticles]

Third Party Vote

A third party is any political party other than the dominant two in the nation - in the U.S.A., these are the Republican and the Democratic parties.

The third parties of the U.S.A. include the Libertarian party and the Green party.

Libertarian beliefs emphasize personal rights to property and participating in a free market. Generally, they do not align with progressive goals due to three key beliefs; everyone’s right to own guns; segregation of education standards; and voluntary taxes1. Overall, they want less government control.

Taxes are extremely annoying and inconvenient, and the allocation of them has not been optimal in many years, but the lack of them would cause extreme losses to programs that help people survive, including social security and certain healthcare plans2. Likewise, while decentralized education can have many benefits for students, the education disparities between states is drastic, and further decentralization will likely exacerbate education inequalities3.

But the purpose of this article is not to debunk the goals of specific parties. Instead, I aim to explain the unfortunate effects of third-party voting in general elections. Specifically, I will explain why some people prefer the Democratic party or the Green party, and why we must be careful when voting this year.

The U.S.A. Green party has goals of strong, definitive measures to address environmental degradation and climate change, institutions that perpetuate inequities, and unsustainable military practices4. Progressively, they are possibly the strongest pushers for change, and they criticize and claim to avoid the corruption and hypocrisy of the Democratic party.

The most likely Democratic candidate for presidency in 2024 is Joseph Biden. During his 2021-2024 presidency, Biden has made Medicare able to negotiate drug prices, including insulin which became capped at 35 dollars per month for seniors5. He also funded vaccination campaigns to address the COVID-19 pandemic, helped protect marriage equality for LGBT+ and interracial people, worked on achieving debt relief, and many more positive goals5. Most recently, he pardoned individuals federally charged with simple possession of marijuana, a major proclamation to correct some failures in the justice system15.

He has also been complicit in the genocide against Palestinian people, with his administration cutting off aid to Gaza while providing Israel munitions6. He has used the military to attack protests in the Middle East7. Additionally, the withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Afghanistan coincided with many service members’ deaths, and he has not achieved the cancellation of student debt that he aimed for8.

Problems with enacting change is that the Senate and the House of Representatives have a majority of Republican appointees, and six of the nine Supreme Court Justices were appointed by a Republican president. These demographics account for some of the issues regarding student loan debts and rights to autonomy and privacy, though Biden has worked to help constituents following the Supreme Court decision against Roe v. Wade5.

A Green party president would face similar setbacks, as checks and balances keep them from being able to completely dictate government decisions.

However, a Green party president such as Jill Stein would likely make good progress towards a more sustainable economy, equal rights, and alleviating climate change, based on her platform9. She would likely be a fantastic president. It is completely understandable why many people decide to vote for a third party, and why many young people, particularly on TikTok, say that they want to vote third-party.

I wish it was not this way, but current politics are not where they need to be for a third party candidate to win. A third-party candidate has never won the U.S.A. presidency before, even in their strongest years10.

When Jill Stein ran in 2016, the Democratic party won the popular vote but the Republican party won, and that responsibility is partially on third-party voters. If Stein’s voters had voted for the Democratic party, they would have won the electoral college11. Likewise, if every Democratic voter had voted for Jill Stein, the same would be true for the Green party.

Why is it fair to ask Green party voters to vote for the Democratic nominee instead of expecting Democratic voters to vote for the Green party, or for any ideal third party?

It isn’t. It is completely valid for people to want voting to be different. I am angry that I have to compromise on humanitarian values, as well. Politics should not be a two-party system. But not voting for Biden or whoever is the Democratic nominee creates an extreme risk of the Republican nominee winning, which would quickly send the U.S.A. further towards a loss of democracy and people’s rights.

Historic trends do not reflect positively on third party chances this year11. The Democratic party is giant and well-established with over 45 million loyal members unlikely to even consider a third party12. Voting for a third party is most likely to be considered a vote ‘stolen’ from one of the dominant parties13.

Keep in mind, these warnings are only pertaining to the presidency. Third parties have much higher likelihoods of success in smaller elections, such as city councils and mayoralties14. Hopefully, these trends will continue and the presidency will eventually not have to be as much of a compromise.

You are not wrong for wanting change. You are not wrong for being unsatisfied with inept government demographics. Continue to advocate for the nominees you most believe in, and please keep in mind the risks involved.

Additional Resources

1. https://www.lp.org/issues/

2. https://www.cbpp.org/research/policy-basics-where-do-our-federal-tax-dollars-go

3.https://learningportal.iiep.unesco.org/en/blog/learning-from-a-decentralized-education-system

4. https://www.gp.org/

5. https://www.whitehouse.gov/therecord/

6.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/01/30/biden-gaza-food-aid-hamas-civilians-strategy/

7.https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/01/11/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-coalition-strikes-in-houthi-controlled-areas-in-yemen/

8. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/10/22/joe-biden-presidency/

9. https://www.jillstein2024.com/principles

10.https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-younger-voters-will-impact-elections-responding-to-the-challenges-of-third-parties/

11.https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/11/13576798/jill-stein-third-party-donald-trump-win

12.https://news.gallup.com/poll/512135/support-third-political-party.aspx

13. https://theintercept.com/2024/01/22/biden-trump-president-election-third-party/

14. https://www.gpelections.org/greens-in-office/2023-july-01/15. https://www.justice.gov/pardon/presidential-proclamation-marijuana-possession

[athena5898]

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/Economy/-israel--paying-heavy-price-for-its-widening-aggression--cnn

In late September, as "Israel's" almost year-long genocide in Gaza spread and its credit rating was reduced once more, Israeli Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, claimed that, while under stress, the economy remained robust.

"Israel's economy bears the burden of the longest and most expensive war in the country's history," Smotrich said on September 28.

Karnit Flug, a former governor of "Israel’s" central bank, told CNN that a more intense war will "take a heavier toll on economic activity and growth."

The war has drastically deteriorated the situation in Gaza, driving it into an economic and humanitarian disaster long ago, while the West Bank is "undergoing a rapid and alarming economic decline," according to a UN study released last month.

The Lebanese economy, meanwhile, might shrink by much to 5% this year as a result of cross-border strikes between the Lebanese Resistance - Hezbollah - and "Israel", according to BMI, a market research organization owned by Fitch Solutions.

According to a worst-case scenario developed by Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies, "Israel's" economy might contract much worse.

Prior to the war on Gaza, the International Monetary Fund predicted the GDP of "Israel" would increase by 3.4% this year in contrast to the current predictions of 1% to 1.9%.

In addition, "Israel's" central bank cannot decrease interest rates to revive the economy since inflation is growing, fueled by rising salaries and ballooning government expenditure to support the war.

Related News

The Bank of Israel estimated in May that war costs could total $66 billion, including military outlays and civilian expenses, such as housing for thousands of Israeli settlers evacuated from the north. This is roughly 12% of "Israel's" GDP.

While Smotrich claimed that the economy will bounce back, economists are concerned the damage will far outlast the war.

Flug, the former Bank of Israel governor, says there is a risk the Israeli government will cut investment to free up resources for war, reducing the growth moving forward.

Researchers at the Institute for National Security Studies say a potential full withdrawal from Gaza and Lebanon would have "Israel" in a weaker position than before October 7, 2023.

“Israel is expected to suffer long-term economic damage regardless of the outcome,” they wrote.

High-income taxpayers leaving the occupation en masse would also make things worse. The occupation government has postponed releasing a budget for next year due to competing demands that make it difficult to balance the accounts.

The battle has doubled "Israel's" budget deficit — the gap between government expenditure and income, primarily from taxes — to 8% of GDP, up from 4% before the war.

Government borrowing has increased and become more costly, as investors seek greater returns on Israeli bonds and other assets. Multiple downgrades to "Israel's" credit ratings by Fitch, Moody's, and S&P are expected to hike the country's borrowing costs even higher.

In late August, the Institute for National Security Studies estimated that just one month of "high-intensity warfare" in Lebanon against Hezbollah combined with "intensive attacks" in the opposite direction that damage Israeli infrastructure could cause "Israel's" budget deficit to rise to 15% and its GDP to contract by up to 10% this year.

The Israeli government faces a growing fiscal crisis, unable to rely on stable tax revenues as many businesses collapse amid the ongoing war. Coface BDi estimates that 60,000 Israeli firms will shut down this year, significantly higher than the average of 40,000.

Avi Hasson, CEO of Startup Nation Central, warned that the Israeli tech sector will not sustain the blows and the government's “destructive” economic policies. The war has led many tech companies to register overseas despite local tax incentives, exacerbating an existing trend.

Other sectors like agriculture and construction are also suffering, struggling with labor shortages and rising prices. Tourism has seen a sharp decline, resulting in an estimated loss of 18.7 billion shekels ($4.9 billion) in revenue since the war began.

[batmansymbol]

I hope this isn't a weird or too random question (and if it is, feel free to ignore ofc!) but I was wondering if you had any advice for someone thinking of writing full-time? The obvious question is, of course, can one make a living from it even if they're not like Stephen King or GRR Martin or something? Do you have any tips from your experience that you would have found helpful when first starting out? <3

Hi, sweet anon! Not weird at all. I'm happy to chime in with some (long) thoughts.

Firstly, yes! Authors can make a full-time living from writing even if they're not GRRM &c. I know a number of full-timers, and some of them aren't even NYT bestsellers.

As a caveat, I know very little about the indie/self-publishing space, so the following is based on my experience in traditional publishing.

I spent around 2-3 years writing books full-time. I no longer do that, and don't plan to return to it unless I have a big commercial breakout. It was just a never-ending parade of financial stress. It's hard even to give "tips" because so much is out of your control -- but if you're considering trying to write full time, you should definitely know what you're signing up for.

Here's an average situation for a non-bestseller trying to full-time it:

Let's say you've published two books, and your third is on the way (awesome!). For your first two novels, you got advances of $40,000, but maybe they've only sold 15k copies apiece -- not enough to "earn out" your advance and start making new money. So, you're not making a cent off your older books. Probably won't for years.

Let's say your book 3 is supposed to publish in June 2025, and it sold for more than your last books: $75,000. Pretty good! Advances are usually divided into thirds these days: 1/3 on contract signing, 1/3 on delivery of the fully edited manuscript (D&A), and 1/3 on publication. So that makes a $50,000 salary this year, yes?

Kind of. Right off the bat, your agent gets 15%, so that would make a $42,500 salary. A little tighter, but still seems doable. Also, you need to make estimated tax payments to the IRS. So, let's ballpark your taxes at $7,000, state and federal, which you'll pay in installments throughout the year.

Contract negotiations take a few months as usual, and let's say in April, you get the first payment: your first $21,250. Nice.

Unfortunately, your editor's swamped, and 2 months go by before they send you edits. When you get the letter in June, you're like -- shit, this is a more extensive revision than I thought. You start rehauling the novel, but after your month-long deadline passes, it's still not right. You take another six weeks before you're happy. It's now September.

Suddenly money is very tight. You got $21,250 in April, but since then you've paid $5,250 in estimated taxes, and every month you pay $2,250 in rent, health insurance, and food. You were supposed to have your second payment already, because the contract's estimated D&A date said September. But you still need to do line edits. You now have $2,500 in the bank. You are very aware that this will last a little over a month.

Your editor gets back after a few weeks, having loved your revision, and has sent you line edits. Thank God she didn't want a second round of bigger edits. But it's now October. You rush through the line edits, turn them in after a single jam-packed week. You have $250 in the bank. Your D&A payment is now due.

A week goes by. Where is the payment? You email your agent. She badgers the publisher. They say the payment will be sent through in a pay run next week, so after agency processing, it'll be with you in early November.

You have $75 in the bank. You start putting everything on your credit cards. Then your utility company makes a direct withdrawal from your checking account. You wake up to an overdraft notice and zero dollars in your account. Holy shit, you think, why did I choose this career. November hits. You are late on rent. Maybe you should start drawing from your retirement account, which you put $5,000 into, one time, three years ago?

When your payment arrives, you're not happy so much as ready to cry with relief. You start paying off your cards and sending late, embarrassed Venmos to your friends. You can finally stop declining invites to hang out because you have no money.

And by then it's November, and you're realizing that you really need to be thinking about your next book. If you were working smart, you got a jump on it earlier in the year, when your editor was late with your edit letter. Let's say you wrote an entire first draft back then, between January and June. (Which, to be clear, IS fast for a novel, do not believe the ridiculous standards of writing speed you see online.) If you now take six months to mold that first draft into actual art, then send it to your agent next May, and she wants changes, and you submit in July, and it sells after an average couple months on submission, you won't get your next contract payment until January, 2026.

ARE YOU ANXIOUS YET?

The above scenario is ordinary. An editor having a delay on an edit letter for a month or two, or an author getting stuck and running over deadline for a month -- that stuff is barely worth commenting on.

And there are all sorts of other bumps in the road. Let's say the publisher has turnover in the contracts department. Immediately, that'll be a delay on your signing payment. I've waited 6 months for a contract payment before. I've waited months for a simple email reply from an editor because the company was going through layoffs.

Add more people into the process, and it gets slower. Are you working on IP, let's say a novelization of a TV property? That team might take months to get back to you even on your proposed outline. Working with a freelancer or cowriter? Add weeks or months to every step. In publishing, you spend half your life waiting. You know what doesn't wait? Rent, taxes, and health insurance.

Anon, this is the shoestring, desperate kind of full-time author existence. If you're doing a little better -- still midlist, but better -- you might have earned out one or more of your backlist titles. That means you'll get additional royalties twice a year, usually April and October. That will help.

Or maybe you're a super-fast writer who's always, always juggling multiple contracts and shooting drafts in and out of your door. That's a decent way to make a healthy living as a full-time author, but you'll need to complete multiple books a year, for sure.

This is why I have a survival job half the week that pays my rent. The stress is still there, but it's less frequent and less intense. Honestly, given my sales figures, which are (checks notes) bad, I'm lucky to get to keep doing this after five novels. Because the biggest looming threat is that if you don't break out, editors will start shutting the door immediately because of your lack of established audience.

The only really reliable way to pay your bills is to break out. Then if your editor leaves your publishing house, and you get reassigned, and that pads 3 months onto the editing process, or whatever, it doesn't matter. You'll have actual, substantial royalty payments twice a year. Your advances will always be over six figures. You can live a normal life where you're not staring into the murky distance, wondering when some payment is going to soar out of the night and into your terrible bank account.

Or ... you can just get a day job. And you will get paid biweekly, reliably, on SPECIFIC DATES!!!, forever. When I tell you this shit was life-changing for me. Good God.

Obviously the biggest problem in this whole post is the bit where I wrote "every month you pay $2,250 in rent, insurance, and food," and worried if I was, in fact, lowballing that amount. What a broken world!

Anyway. Best of luck with the writing, anon -- no matter what your experiences in or around the industry, I hope the work itself continues to feed your soul.

RR

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Richard Luscombe at The Guardian:

Donald Trump returned to the campaign trail in Florida on Tuesday night, hurling insults at Joe Biden and airing a litany of familiar grievances, but declining to name a running mate for November’s general election. The former president and presumptive Republican nominee was speaking to a crowd of several hundred supporters at his golf club in Doral, a western suburb of Miami, keeping them waiting in 90F heat for a freewheeling monologue that began more than an hour later than scheduled.

There was speculation that he might use his first public appearance since last month’s debate with the president to announce Florida senator Marco Rubio, who was present, as his vice-presidential pick, six days ahead of the Republican national convention (RNC) in Milwaukee. Instead, Trump delivered a rambling 75-minute speech that included a succession of attacks on Biden and his faltering debate performance, which has raised questions among Democrats on whether the 81-year-old president was robust enough for a second term of office.

He seized on the post-debate turbulence that has prompted calls from some senior Democrats for Biden to step down and nominate Kamala Harris. “The radical left Democratic party is divided in chaos, and having a full scale breakdown all because they can’t decide which of their candidates is more unfit to be president, sleepy, crooked Joe Biden or laughing Kamala,” he said, repeating previous derogatory terms for the pair.

“Despite all the Democrat panic this week, the truth is it doesn’t matter who they nominate because we are going to beat any one of them in a thundering landslide.” Trump has kept a lower than usual profile in the days since the debate, a strategy an aide described as designed to allow Democrats to tear into each other following Biden’s dismal debate performance.

His remarks on Tuesday were notable for adding the vice-president’s name to numerous attacks on Biden policies, and sprinkling in mentions of both Rubio and Byron Donalds, a Republican Florida congressman also believed to be on Trump’s shortlist for vice-president. Otherwise, it was a standard Trump stump speech, full of evidence-free claims that his 2020 election defeat was fraudulent; baseless accusations that overseas nations were sending to the US “most of their prisoners”; and a laughable assertion that a gathering of supporters numbering in the hundreds was really a crowd of 45,000. It also touched on the surreal. Biden, he insisted, had raised the price of bacon four-fold. “We don’t eat bacon any more,” Trump said.

Electric cars, he said, “cheated” the US public because drivers had to stop for three hours to recharge their vehicles after every 45 minutes of driving. And, in an echo of one of the more bizarre debate exchanges with Biden over who was the better golfer, he challenged his White House successor to 18 holes over the Doral course while granting a 10-stroke concession. “It will be among the most watched sporting events in history, maybe bigger than the Ryder Cup or even the Masters,” Trump said, pledging $1m to a charity of Biden’s choosing if he lost. Returning to politics, Trump assailed Democrats for tax rises he said they wanted to impose; criticized Biden for the US military’s chaotic 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan; and promised to build an “iron dome” missile defense system for the US, if he was elected in November.

Donald Trump’s first post-debate rally on Tuesday in Doral, Florida served up the greatest hits of lies to his gullible brainwashed rallygoers.

See Also:

HuffPost: Trump Attacks Biden’s Debate Performance In Lie-Filled Return To Campaign Trail

[ahmetmertugrul]

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