#boost debt reduction

[wise-life]

A Comprehensive Guide to the Debt Snowball

As a financial coach at Wise Life University, I understand the importance of finding effective strategies to tackle debt. One of the most popular and proven methods is the debt snowball. This technique, recommended by many financial experts, is designed to help you pay off debt quickly while building momentum. Whether you’re dealing with credit card debt, student loans, or medical bills, the debt…

[rivkat]

IRS reform is working

Have some good news! (Gift link.)

The IRS reported Wednesday that it has collected $1 billion in taxes and penalties owed by hundreds of wealthy households who accumulated past-due tax debts for years while IRS enforcement dwindled.

“The tax bill wasn’t even in dispute — the taxes were clearly owed by these people,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said in a call with reporters. “But we didn’t have the people or the resources. … It takes time and staffing to work through these cases.”

The tax agency, boosted by $60 billion in additional funding from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, has hired hundreds of skilled accountants over the past year and a half after years of shrinking staffing. Some of them have focused their efforts on specific groups of tax delinquents, including a group of 1,600 households with annual incomes above $1 million who were all known to owe at least $250,000 in back taxes, based on their previous tax returns. Facing understaffing in the past, IRS leaders admit, their agents simply didn’t try to collect these taxes for years.

[simply-ivanka]

How the Biden-Harris Economy Left Most Americans Behind

A government spending boom fueled inflation that has crushed real average incomes.

By The Editorial Board -- Wall Street Journal

Kamala Harris plans to roll out her economic priorities in a speech on Friday, though leaks to the press say not to expect much different than the last four years. That’s bad news because the Biden-Harris economic record has left most Americans worse off than they were four years ago. The evidence is indisputable.

President Biden claims that he inherited the worst economy since the Great Depression, but this isn’t close to true. The economy in January 2021 was fast recovering from the pandemic as vaccines rolled out and state lockdowns eased. GDP grew 34.8% in the third quarter of 2020, 4.2% in the fourth, and 5.2% in the first quarter of 2021. By the end of that first quarter, real GDP had returned to its pre-pandemic high. All Mr. Biden had to do was let the recovery unfold.

Instead, Democrats in March 2021 used Covid relief as a pretext to pass $1.9 trillion in new spending. This was more than double Barack Obama’s 2009 spending bonanza. State and local governments were the biggest beneficiaries, receiving $350 billion in direct aid, $122 billion for K-12 schools and $30 billion for mass transit. Insolvent union pension funds received a $86 billion rescue.

The rest was mostly transfer payments to individuals, including a five-month extension of enhanced unemployment benefits, a $3,600 fully refundable child tax credit, $1,400 stimulus payments per person, sweetened Affordable Care Act subsidies, an increased earned income tax credit including for folks who didn’t work, housing subsidies and so much more.

The handouts discouraged the unemployed from returning to work and fueled consumer spending, which was already primed to surge owing to pent-up savings from the Covid lockdowns and spending under Donald Trump. By mid-2021, Americans had $2.3 trillion in “excess savings” relative to pre-pandemic levels—equivalent to roughly 12.5% of disposable income.

So much money chasing too few goods fueled inflation, which was supercharged by the Federal Reserve’s accommodative policy. Historically low mortgage rates drove up housing prices. The White House blamed “corporate greed” for inflation that peaked at 9.1% in June 2022, even as the spending party in Washington continued.

In November 2021, Congress passed a $1 trillion bill full of green pork and more money for states. Then came the $280 billion Chips Act and Mr. Biden’s Green New Deal—aka the Inflation Reduction Act—which Goldman Sachs estimates will cost $1.2 trillion over a decade. Such heaps of government spending have distorted private investment.

While investment in new factories has grown, spending on research and development and new equipment has slowed. Overall private fixed investment has grown at roughly half the rate under Mr. Biden as it did under Mr. Trump. Manufacturing output remains lower than before the pandemic.

Magnifying market misallocations, the Administration conditioned subsidies on businesses advancing its priorities such as paying union-level wages and providing child care to workers. It also boosted food stamps, expanded eligibility for ObamaCare subsidies and waved away hundreds of billions of dollars in student debt. The result: $5.8 trillion in deficits during Mr. Biden’s first three years—about twice as much as during Donald Trump’s—and the highest inflation in four decades.

Prices have increased by nearly 20% since January 2021, compared to 7.8% during the Trump Presidency. Inflation-adjusted average weekly earnings are down 3.9% since Mr. Biden entered office, compared to an increase of 2.6% during Mr. Trump’s first three years. (Real wages increased much more in 2020, but partly owing to statistical artifacts.)

Higher interest rates are finally bringing inflation under control, which is allowing real wages to rise again. But the Federal Reserve had to raise rates higher than it otherwise would have to offset the monetary and fiscal gusher. The higher rates have pushed up mortgage costs for new home buyers.

Three years of inflation and higher interest rates are stretching American pocketbooks, especially for lower income workers. Seriously delinquent auto loans and credit cards are higher than any time since the immediate aftermath of the 2008-09 recession.

Ms. Harris boasts that the economy has added nearly 16 million jobs during the Biden Presidency—compared to about 6.4 million during Mr. Trump’s first three years. But most of these “new” jobs are backfilling losses from the pandemic lockdowns. The U.S. has fewer jobs than it was on track to add before the pandemic.

What’s more, all the Biden-Harris spending has yielded little economic bang for the taxpayer buck. Washington has borrowed more than $400,000 for every additional job added under Mr. Biden compared to Mr. Trump’s first three years. Most new jobs are concentrated in government, healthcare and social assistance—60% of new jobs in the last year.

Administrative agencies are also creating uncertainty by blitzing businesses with costly regulations—for instance, expanding overtime pay, restricting independent contractors, setting stricter emissions limits on power plants and factories, micro-managing broadband buildout and requiring CO2 emissions calculations in environmental reviews.

The economy is still expanding, but business investment has slowed. And although the affluent are doing relatively well because of buoyant asset prices, surveys show that most Americans feel financially insecure. Thus another political paradox of the Biden-Harris years: Socioeconomic disparities have increased.

Ms. Harris is promising the same economic policies with a shinier countenance. Don’t expect better results.

[centrally-unplanned]

The issue around treating medical school debt as a driver for problems of US doctor shortages, or distortions in distribution, is that any impact it has is just completely wiped out by the centrally controlled, government-backed reductions in the supply of doctors themselves. In a world where the supply of doctors was allowed to meet demand, debt would matter a good deal! It would be reducing your supply, making the marginal cost of becoming a doctor higher, and so reductions in the price of becoming one would boost the numbers you have, lower costs of treatment, etc etc.

But in the US that's all irrelevant because we slap a gigantic quota bar a thousand yards before those supply and demand lines ever intersect. You could demand blood sacrifices and the souls of their first born from med school applicants, demand for those slots is so high you wouldn't even notice. Being a doctor is the most reliable 1%'er job in the US at scale, it beats programmers and financial analysts easy. Any attempt to "boost supply" of doctors by making being a doctor *better* somehow is categorically incapable of doing that, because that is not what is constraining supply. Even the idea of boosting the salaries of pediatricians to get relatively more of them, while it can do something at the margins, is missing the point - your supply of doctors is fixed. You can only increase the number of pediatricians by *reducing the number of radiologists*. Who presumably do valuable work! The math is extremely harsh to any attempts at amelioration if you don't address the core problem.

[kp777]

By Julia Conley

Common Dreams

Aug. 16, 2024

Proposals to lower housing, childcare, and healthcare costs for millions of families are "a welcome step in the right direction," said one advocate.

After announcing earlier this week that U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris plans to take on corporate price gouging with the first-ever federal ban in the food and grocery industries, the Democratic presidential nominee's campaign on Friday unveiled details about Harris' broader economic agenda, making clear to advocates that she is focused on lowering numerous costs facing working households.

Along with a four-year plan to boost housing construction, provide financial help to first-time homebuyers, and rein in predatory corporate landlords, Harris announced plans to lower medical costs and provide financial assistance to new parents and families raising young children.

The proposals, which Harris is expected to officially announce at a campaign event in Raleigh, North Carolina on Friday, send the message that "the days of 'what's good for free enterprise is good for America' are over," Felicia Wong, president of the progressive think tank Roosevelt Forward, toldThe Washington Post.

"Harris has made a set of policy choices over the last several weeks that make it clear that the Democratic Party is committed to a pro-working, family agenda," Wong said.

Within Harris' plan to lower healthcare costs, the vice president will include proposals to expand Medicare's cap on prescription drug costs at $2,000 annually to all Americans and to place a limit of $35 per month on insulin. Both policies are provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and currently apply only to Medicare recipients. As the Postreported, allowing all Americans to benefit from the price limits "could face resistance from the pharmaceutical industry and Republicans," who have fought to block Medicare drug price negotiations that were also included in the IRA.

Harris said she would work to expedite those negotiations, the first round of which yielded lower costs for 10 widely used medications that were announced by the Biden administration on Thursday.

"Policies that lift up families will always be popular with voters. Working people want to see action from our federal government to address sky-high costs."

The vice president would also work closely with states to cancel medical debt for millions of people "and to help them avoid accumulating such debt in the future, because no one should go bankrupt just because they had the misfortune of becoming sick or hurt," said the Harris campaign. "This plan builds on Vice President Harris' leadership in removing medical debt from nearly all Americans' credit reports and in helping secure American Rescue Plan funds to cancel $7 billion of medical debt for up to 3 million Americans."

The final plank of the economic plan announced on Friday was focused on "cutting taxes for the middle class," the campaign said, with the vice president pledging to restore and expand child tax credits. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's campaign has been focusing on the issue in recent weeks as vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) has come under fire for his criticism of people who don't have children and for his absence from a Senate vote on expanding the existing child tax credit, which nearly the entire GOP Senate caucus voted against.

The Harris campaign said the vice president would restore the expanded child tax credit that provided a credit of up to $3,600 per child for middle- and lower-income families; the program was passed as part of the American Rescue Plan in 2021, but expired at the end of that year due to opposition from the Republican Party and conservative Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.), then a Democrat.

Harris would also push for a further "historic expansion of the child tax credit: providing up to $6,000 in total tax relief for middle-income and low-income families for the first year of their child's life when a family's expenses are highest—with cribs, diapers, car seats, and more—and many parents are still forced to forgo income as they take time off from their job."

Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, said the proposal would also work hand-in-hand with Harris' housing plan to "positively impact families' ability to pay rent."

Vance earlier this week called for boosting the child tax credit—currently $2,000 per year—to $5,000, but Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who proposed a package last month that would have raised the cap on the credit for low-income families, said Vance's failure to vote on the legislation exposed him as "a phony."

"If JD Vance sincerely gave a whit about working families in America, he would have shown up in the Senate a week and a half ago and voted for my proposal to expand the child tax credit and help 16 million low income kids get ahead," said Wyden. "He didn’t even care enough to use his platform to call on his Senate Republican colleagues to support it."

Maurice Mitchell, national director of the Working Families Party, said that with plans to extend tax cuts that disproportionately benefited corporations and the wealthy, "Trump and Vance are going to look out for bosses and billionaires, while Harris and [Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim] Walz are showing working people that they have their backs."

"Policies that lift up families will always be popular with voters. Working people want to see action from our federal government to address sky-high costs," said Mitchell. "By committing to take on greedflation, lower prescription drug costs, and make housing more affordable, Kamala Harris is listening to the voters she needs to turn out in November."

A Data for Progress poll late last month showed that 75% of Americans support slashing prescription drug prices, 79% support making corporations pay their fair share in taxes, and 58% support restoring the expanded child tax credit.

Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of Our Revolution, called Harris' economic agenda "a welcome step in the right direction, particularly with its focus on tackling corporate price gouging, reining in predatory corporate landlords, reducing prescription drug prices, and providing real relief to working families burdened by medical debt."

"However, to truly address the root causes of economic inequality, we must push for comprehensive reforms that dismantle the structural issues enabling corporations to exploit consumers and workers," said Geevarghese. "The Harris-Walz plan's proposals are critical first steps, but the progressive movement will be watching closely to ensure these policies are not only enacted but rigorously enforced to deliver the meaningful change that Americans desperately need."

[survivingcapitalism]

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is a major influencer and funder of agricultural development in Africa, with little accountability or transparency. Leading experts in food security and many groups in Africa and around the world have critiqued the foundation’s push to expand high-cost, high-input, chemical-dependent agriculture in Africa. Critics say this approach is exacerbating hunger, worsening inequality and entrenching corporate power in the world’s hungriest region.

This fact sheet links to reports and news articles documenting these concerns.

[...]

What are the main critiques of Gates Foundation’s agricultural program?

The Gates Foundation’s flagship agricultural program, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA, which recently rebranded to remove the term “green revolution” from its name), works to transition farmers away from traditional seeds and crops to patented seeds, fossil-fuel based fertilizers and other inputs to grow commodity crops for the global market. The foundation says its goal is to “boost the yields and incomes of millions of small farmers in Africa… so they can lift themselves and their families out of hunger and poverty.” The strategy is modeled on the Indian “green revolution” that boosted production of staple crops but also left a legacy of structural inequity and escalating debt for farmers that contributed to massive mobilizations of peasant farmers in India.

Critics have said the green revolution is a failed approach for poverty reduction that has created more problems than it has solved; these include environmental degradation, growing pesticide use, reduced diversity of food crops, and increased corporate control over food systems. Several recent research reports provide evidence that Gates-led agricultural interventions in Africa have failed to help small farmers. Critics say the programs may even be worsening hunger and malnutrition in Southern Africa.

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

In March, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s colleagues laughed as the California Republican mocked President Joe Biden’s age, saying he would bring Biden “soft food” so they could negotiate over the debt ceiling.

But McCarthy apparently did not bring Biden anything to eat during their talks, and the President chewed up the GOP’s debt limit proposal instead. Republicans aren’t laughing anymore.

“Republicans got outsmarted by a President who can’t find his pants,” Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) tweeted on Tuesday, making clear she opposed the compromise legislation that came out of Biden and McCarthy’s negotiations.

Biden, 80, is the oldest person to serve as President of the U.S., and his age and alleged senility have been a constant focus of Republicans and right-wing commentators, despite assurances from his doctors that there’s nothing wrong with his mind. Polls have also shown that voters have concerns about Biden’s age.

During the debt limit standoff, McCarthy repeatedly said that by refusing to negotiate with Republicans, Biden was “bumbling” the U.S. toward a potentially catastrophic default. Even some Democrats criticized the President for not publicly engaging as much as McCarthy has in recent weeks. But as of Wednesday, default seemed unlikely, and the outlines of the deal appeared favorable to Democrats.

Asked if Biden had gotten the better of McCarthy, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), replied, “Yeah, I think that’s a fair assumption.”

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), meanwhile, said he believed McCarthy had simply been “misled.” He didn’t say by whom.

Even McCarthy conceded that he had been impressed with Biden’s negotiating team during the talks, calling them “very professional, very smart” and “very tough at the same time.”

But the Speaker has denied that he was outsmarted, touting the bill’s reductions to government spending and stricter “work requirements” for federal food benefits that Democrats opposed. The legislation would reduce the deficit by $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years, in large part due to cuts to non-defense programs, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

“How were we outsmarted? The largest cut in the history of Congress. The biggest ability to pull money back,” McCarthy told ABC News on Tuesday. “We’ve got work requirements for welfare where the Democrats said was a red line.”

Still, Biden got plenty of wins in the bill, which cuts federal spending far less than Republicans initially hoped. And in a twist, the CBO said the work requirements won’t reduce spending or enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

The program supports 20 million households and already limits benefits for unemployed adults without children or disabilities who are between the ages of 18 and 49, unless they work or perform some other qualifying activity for 20 hours a week. Republicans proposed expanding the work requirement to people in their early 50s, as well as restricting states’ discretion to exempt some recipients. The CBO estimated the Republican proposal would have saved $11 billion and reduced SNAP enrollment by 275,000.

Biden signaled early on that he was open to stricter work requirements for SNAP, just not “anything of any consequence” — a statement that drew mocking laughter from McCarthy and his colleagues as someone, apparently a lawmaker behind the Speaker, shouted, “Loser!”

Sure enough, Biden agreed to expand SNAP’s work rules to people as old as 54 — but the White House also won changes that render the net impact of the bill inconsequential, at least from a budget perspective. The CBO said that, thanks to brand-new work requirement exemptions for veterans and homeless people, the bill would actually increase SNAP enrollment by a small amount and boost federal spending by $2 billion.

The analysis was not a surprise to the White House; a senior administration official said Sunday that “we expect that the number of people subject to SNAP work requirements will stay roughly the same under this agreement.”

The deal also preserves key Democratic priorities like student loan debt relief, climate change funding, and the bulk of investments aimed at making sure the wealthy pay their taxes.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) likened the bill to a “shit sandwich” that Republicans would have to eat — a sentiment shared by other Republicans planning to support the bill in a vote on Wednesday.

That doesn’t mean Democrats don’t have concerns about the legislation. Progressives, in particular, are furious that Biden was forced to negotiate over the debt limit at all, warning that he set a precedent Republicans will exploit time and time again if the debt limit isn’t abolished.

“It rewards the hostage-taking that the Republicans have gotten so damn good at,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said Tuesday.

Still, Democrats maintain the GOP has underestimated Biden at every turn, pointing to his many legislative accomplishments in the last Congress, including bipartisan investments in infrastructure and semiconductor research, and his signing of a historic climate change bill.

“If you haven’t figured out by now that our president is in the top 1% of negotiators, you haven’t been paying attention the last two and a half years,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) told HuffPost.

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Why Lula is suddenly concerned about Brazil's public spending

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is reinforcing Brazil’s commitment to fiscal consolidation in response to investors' concerns.

During a prime-time speech that was widely broadcast on Sunday, Lula said, "I will not abandon fiscal responsibility. Among the many life lessons I received from my mother... I learned not to spend more than I earn." 

After taking office in January 2023, Lula repeatedly promoted increased public investment to boost growth. However, investors have raised concerns as higher spending could create inflationary pressure.

"From the beginning of the Lula administration, domestic investors were suspicious that the government's fiscal strategy was limited because it anchored the debt reduction to an increase in revenue from tax collection and not a reduction in expenses. Now, this strategy is also being doubted by international investors, who have taken resources out of Brazil because of an increase in risk perception, which forces the government to adopt a more assertive tone in relation to its fiscal commitment," Luciano Rostagno, chief strategist at EPS Investimentos, told BNamericas.

Continue reading.

[thoughtportal]

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Once You See the Truth About Cars, You Can’t Unsee It https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/15/opinion/car-ownership-inequality.html

By Andrew Ross and Julie Livingston

Mr. Ross and Ms. Livingston are professors at New York University, members of its Prison Education Program Research Lab and authors of the book “Cars and Jails: Freedom Dreams, Debt, and Carcerality.”

In American consumer lore, the automobile has always been a “freedom machine” and liberty lies on the open road. “Americans are a race of independent people” whose “ancestors came to this country for the sake of freedom and adventure,” the National Automobile Chamber of Commerce’s soon-to-be-president, Roy Chapin, declared in 1924. “The automobile satisfies these instincts.” During the Cold War, vehicles with baroque tail fins and oodles of surplus chrome rolled off the assembly line, with Native American names like Pontiac, Apache, Dakota, Cherokee, Thunderbird and Winnebago — the ultimate expressions of capitalist triumph and Manifest Destiny.

But for many low-income and minority Americans, automobiles have been turbo-boosted engines of inequality, immobilizing their owners with debt, increasing their exposure to hostile law enforcement, and in general accelerating the forces that drive apart haves and have-nots.

Though progressive in intent, the Biden administration’s signature legislative achievements on infrastructure and climate change will further entrench the nation’s staunch commitment to car production, ownership and use. The recent Inflation Reduction Act offers subsidies for many kinds of vehicles using alternative fuel, and should result in real reductions in emissions, but it includes essentially no direct incentives for public transit — by far the most effective means of decarbonizing transport. And without comprehensive policy efforts to eliminate discriminatory policing and predatory lending, merely shifting to electric from combustion will do nothing to reduce car owners’ ever-growing risk of falling into legal and financial jeopardy, especially those who are poor or Black.

By the 1940s, African American car owners had more reason than anyone to see their vehicles as freedom machines, as a means to escape, however temporarily, redlined urban ghettos in the North or segregated towns in the South. But their progress on roads outside of the metro core was regularly obstructed by the police, threatened by vigilante assaults, and stymied by owners of whites-only restaurants, lodgings and gas stations. Courts granted the police vast discretionary authority to stop and search for any one of hundreds of code violations — powers that they did not apply evenly. Today, officers make more than 50,000 traffic stops a day. Driving while Black has become a major route to incarceration — or much worse. When Daunte Wright was killed by a police officer in April 2021, he had been pulled over for an expired registration tag on his car’s license plate. He joined the long list of Black drivers whose violent and premature deaths at the hands of police were set in motion by a minor traffic infraction — Sandra Bland (failure to use a turn signal), Maurice Gordon (alleged speeding), Samuel DuBose (missing front license plate) and Philando Castile and Walter Scott (broken taillights) among them. Despite widespread criticism of the flimsy pretexts used to justify traffic stops, and the increasing availability of cellphone or police body cam videos, the most recent data shows that the number of deaths from police-driver interactions is almost as high as it has been over the past five years.

In the consumer arena, cars have become tightly sprung debt traps. The average monthly auto loan payment crossed $700 for the first time this year, which does not include insurance or maintenance costs. Subprime lending and longer loan terms of up to 84 months have resulted in a doubling of auto loan debt over the last decade and a notable surge in the number of drivers who are “upside down”— owing more money than their cars are worth. But, again, the pain is not evenly distributed. Auto financing companies often charge nonwhite consumers higher interest rates than white consumers, as do insurers.

Formerly incarcerated buyers whose credit scores are depressed from inactivity are especially red meat to dealers and predatory lenders. In our research, we spoke to many such buyers who found it easier, upon release from prison, to acquire expensive cars than to secure an affordable apartment. Some, like LeMarcus, a Black Brooklynite (whose name has been changed to protect his privacy under ethical research guidelines), discovered that loans were readily available for a luxury vehicle but not for the more practical car he wanted. Even with friends and family willing to help him with a down payment, after he spent roughly five years in prison, his credit score made it impossible to get a Honda or “a regular car.” Instead, relying on a friend to co-sign a loan, he was offered a high-interest loan on a pre-owned Mercedes E350. LeMarcus knew it was a bad deal, but the dealer told him the bank that would have financed a Honda “wanted a more solid foundation, good credit, income was showing more,” but that to finance the Mercedes, it “was actually willing to work with the people with lower credit and lower down payments.” We interviewed many other formerly incarcerated people who followed a similar path, only to see their cars repossessed.

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LeMarcus was “car rich, cash poor,” a common and precarious condition that can have serious legal consequences for low-income drivers, as can something as simple as a speeding ticket. A $200 ticket is a meaningless deterrent to a hedge fund manager from Greenwich, Conn., who is pulled over on the way to the golf club, but it could be a devastating blow to those who mow the fairways at the same club. If they cannot pay promptly, they will face cascading penalties. If they cannot take a day off work to appear in court, they risk a bench warrant or loss of their license for debt delinquency. Judges in local courts routinely skirt the law of the land (in Supreme Court decisions like Bearden v. Georgia and Timbs v. Indiana) by disregarding the offender’s ability to pay traffic debt. At the request of collection agencies, they also issue arrest or contempt warrants for failure to appear in court on unpaid auto loan debts. With few other options to travel to work, millions of Americans make the choice to continue driving even without a license, which means their next traffic stop may land them in jail.

The pathway that leads from a simple traffic fine to financial insolvency or detention is increasingly crowded because of the spread of revenue policing intended to generate income from traffic tickets, court fees and asset forfeiture. Fiscally squeezed by austerity policies, officials extract the funds from those least able to pay. This is not only an awful way to fund governments; it is also a form of backdoor, regressive taxation that circumvents voters’ input.

Deadly traffic stops, racially biased predatory lending and revenue policing have all come under public scrutiny of late, but typically they are viewed as distinct realms of injustice, rather than as the interlocking systems that they are. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it: A traffic stop can result in fines or arrest; time behind bars can result in repossession or a low credit score; a low score results in more debt and less ability to pay fines, fees and surcharges. Championed as a kind of liberation, car ownership — all but mandatory in most parts of the country — has for many become a vehicle of capture and control.

Industry boosters promise us that technological advances like on-demand transport, self-driving electric vehicles and artificial intelligence-powered traffic cameras will smooth out the human errors that lead to discrimination, and that car-sharing will reduce the runaway costs of ownership. But no combination of apps and cloud-based solutions can ensure that the dealerships, local municipalities, courts and prison industries will be willing to give up the steady income they derive from shaking down motorists.

Aside from the profound need for accessible public transportation, what could help? Withdraw armed police officers from traffic duties, just as they have been from parking and tollbooth enforcement in many jurisdictions. Introduce income-graduated traffic fines. Regulate auto lending with strict interest caps and steep penalties for concealing fees and add-ons and for other well-known dealership scams. Crack down hard on the widespread use of revenue policing. And close the back door to debtors’ prisons by ending the use of arrest warrants in debt collection cases. Without determined public action along these lines, technological advances often end up reproducing deeply rooted prejudices. As Malcolm X wisely said, “Racism is like a Cadillac; they bring out a new model every year.”

Andrew Ross and Julie Livingston are professors at New York University, members of its Prison Education Program Research Lab and authors of the book “Cars and Jails: Freedom Dreams, Debt, and Carcerality.”

[unpluggedfinancial]

Mastering Your Finances: A Roadmap to Long-Term Financial Health

Introduction

Achieving financial stability is a crucial step toward a secure and stress-free life. Effective financial management enables you to avoid debt, save for the future, and make informed investment decisions. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore practical tips and strategies to help you master your finances and achieve long-term financial health.

Section 1: Building a Strong Financial Foundation

A solid financial foundation is akin to the bedrock of a grand architectural marvel. Without it, the structure above cannot stand tall and resilient against the test of time.

Spend Less Than You Earn The cornerstone of financial stability lies in the principle of spending less than you earn. Much like the conservation of energy, where output should not exceed input, your financial health thrives when your expenditures are less than your income. Begin by meticulously tracking your expenses. Utilize tools like budgeting apps or a simple spreadsheet to categorize and monitor every dollar spent. Create a budget that aligns with your financial goals, allowing you to live within your means and avoid unnecessary debt.

Emergency Fund An emergency fund serves as your financial safety net, a buffer against life's unpredictable events. Aim to save 3-6 months' worth of living expenses in an easily accessible account. This fund acts as a safeguard, ensuring you can navigate unexpected expenses, such as medical bills or car repairs, without derailing your financial progress. The importance of this fund cannot be overstated, as it provides peace of mind and stability in turbulent times.

Section 2: Investing Wisely

Investing is the art and science of making your money work for you. However, like any scientific endeavor, it requires careful research, understanding, and strategic planning.

Understand Before You Invest Before diving into the world of investments, take the time to understand the various options available. Whether it's stocks, bonds, real estate, or other assets, each investment vehicle comes with its own set of risks and rewards. Conduct thorough research and consider seeking advice from a financial advisor. Their expertise can provide valuable insights and help you make informed decisions.

Don't Invest More Than You Can Afford to Lose A cardinal rule in investing is to never put at risk more money than you can afford to lose. Diversification is your ally in mitigating risk. Spread your investments across different asset classes and sectors to minimize the impact of any single investment's poor performance. This approach, known as diversification, enhances the stability and potential growth of your portfolio.

Section 3: Managing Debt Effectively

Debt, if managed wisely, can be a tool for growth. However, if left unchecked, it can become a burden that stifles financial progress.

Good Debt vs. Bad Debt Not all debt is created equal. Good debt, such as student loans or mortgages, can be considered investments in your future. They often come with lower interest rates and have the potential to increase your earning power or net worth. Conversely, bad debt, like high-interest credit card debt, can quickly spiral out of control. Focus on paying off high-interest debt first to free yourself from its financial stranglehold.

Debt Reduction Strategies There are several effective strategies for reducing debt. The snowball method involves paying off your smallest debts first, providing a psychological boost as you eliminate balances one by one. The avalanche method focuses on paying off debts with the highest interest rates first, saving you money on interest over time. Consider consolidating your debt into lower-interest loans or credit cards to make your payments more manageable.

Section 4: Boosting Your Income

Increasing your income is a proactive approach to achieving financial goals faster. It provides additional resources to save, invest, and pay off debt.

Side Hustles and Freelancing In today's gig economy, opportunities for side hustles and freelance work abound. Whether it's driving for a rideshare service, offering consulting services, or starting an online business, additional income streams can significantly enhance your financial situation. This extra income can be directed towards debt reduction, savings, or investments, accelerating your journey towards financial stability.

Investing in Yourself Your most valuable asset is yourself. Investing in your education and skills can have long-term benefits for your career and earning potential. Consider taking courses, attending workshops, or gaining certifications in your field. Continuous personal and professional development not only enhances your employability but also opens doors to higher income opportunities.

Section 5: Reducing Expenses and Saving Money

Reducing expenses is akin to tightening the bolts on a well-oiled machine. Every bit of savings contributes to smoother financial operations and long-term stability.

Cutting Unnecessary Costs Take a critical look at your spending habits and identify unnecessary expenses. Cancel subscriptions you no longer use, cook at home instead of dining out, and find ways to save on utilities and other monthly bills. Small changes in your spending habits can accumulate into significant savings over time.

Smart Shopping Adopt smart shopping strategies to maximize your savings. Compare prices, use coupons, and take advantage of sales to save money on everyday items. By being a savvy shopper, you can stretch your dollars further and make your budget work more efficiently.

Conclusion

Achieving financial stability requires a combination of smart spending, wise investing, and proactive debt management. By following these tips and staying committed to your financial goals, you can build a secure future and achieve long-term financial health. Remember to stay informed, adapt to changing circumstances, and celebrate your progress along the way.

Additional Resources

Consider consulting a financial advisor for personalized advice and guidance.

Utilize budgeting and investment apps to track your progress and stay on top of your finances.

Continuously educate yourself on personal finance and investing to make informed decisions.

In the grand tapestry of life, your financial health is a thread of paramount importance. With knowledge, discipline, and strategic planning, you can weave a future of stability, security, and prosperity.

Call to Action

Are you ready to take control of your financial future? Join our community at [Your Blog Name] for more in-depth articles and resources on financial management, investing, and achieving financial freedom. Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel, [Unplugged Financial], where we dive into the history of money, explore the current financial landscape, and discuss how Bitcoin can revolutionize the financial world. Together, we can navigate the path to financial independence and create a brighter future.

Stay Connected:

Visit our blog: Bitcoin Revolution

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Let's learn, grow, and achieve financial freedom together!

[influencingforjohn]

I’m 10,000 dollars in debt so moving forward I’m going to be posting about my journey to becoming debt free with 850 credit score . Also , about having a Huge savings account.

Here are some essential skills to help me and you if you are going through this to achieve this goal:

1. Budgeting: Create a realistic budget that accounts for every dollar spent.

2. Debt Snowball: Prioritize debts by focusing on the smallest balance first.

3. Debt Avalanche: Prioritize debts by focusing on the highest interest rate first.

4. Expense Tracking: Monitor and record every expense to identify areas for reduction.

5. Savings: Build an emergency fund to avoid further debt.

6. Credit Report Analysis: Understand your credit report and dispute errors.

7. Credit Utilization: Keep credit card balances below 30% of the limit.

8. Payment Planning: Make consistent, on-time payments.

9. Interest Rate Negotiation: Contact creditors to negotiate lower rates.

10. Credit Score Monitoring: Regularly check your credit score to track progress.

11. Financial Discipline: Avoid new debt and impulsive purchases.

12. Income Increase: Explore ways to boost income, such as a side hustle or raise.

13. Debt Consolidation: Consider consolidating debt into a lower-interest loan.

14. Credit Card Management: Use credit cards responsibly and pay off balances.

15. Long-term Planning: Set financial goals and develop a plan to achieve them.

Additionally, consider the following strategies to raise your credit score:

1. Pay bills on time (35% of credit score)

2. Keep credit utilization low (30% of credit score)

3. Monitor credit report errors (10% of credit score)

4. Don't open too many new credit accounts (10% of credit score)

5. Build a credit history (15% of credit score)

Remember, paying off debt and improving your credit score takes time and effort. Focus on developing these skills and staying committed to your goals. Paying off $10,000 in debt and raising your credit score to 850 requires discipline, patience, and a solid understanding of personal finance. Stay tuned to see me accomplish this easy goal and save triple that amount in savings

[vampire-erosart]

Commissions Open (cheap sketches)

I am in debt because of a stupid accident. So I am opening commissions to the public for the first time. I also keep accidentally erasing all the contents of this post. :)

Commission result may not be as shitty as the example sketch because I drew in a panic/rush.

Prices -

Head: $3 Bust: $9 Full body: $12

Flat color fee: +$5 Gore fee: +$10 Silhouette reduction: -$2

Sillhouette example:

Prices may fluctuate slightly depending on detail of subject

Subject Matter -

Allowed: Porn, Mecha, Kink (excluding minors), Image transparency

Can draw: Fat, Disability, Ethnic features (excluding bigoted messages), Your character drawn driving a picture of a vehicle (picture not provided), Octopus tentacles

Not allowed: Bigoted messages, Cops, Violent porn, Incestuous or Pedophilic (any lewd underage) content, Aged up porn, Vomit, Scat, Urethral penetration

Can't draw: Non-abstract backgrounds, More than 3 characters in one drawing

3 commission slots allowed at a time and 3 tweak requests allowed per drawing so please be as specific as possible while requesting the art you want drawn.

I will be charging through P-yP-l but I can charge through Ve--mo too.

Please make sure you'll be able to pay for what you're getting.

Please DM me here at @vampire-erosart if you are interested.

Please boost this and throw a reblog at this post if uninterested.

If reblogs are turned off, I am no longer accepting commissions or I have made an updated commissions post.

[partisan-by-default]

The research outfit headed by Mark Zandi forecast that gross domestic product would expand 1.6% in 2024 on a fourth-quarter over fourth-quarter basis and unemployment would end the year at 4.6% if the proposal became law. That compares with a forecast of 2.25% growth and a 4.2% jobless rate if the debt ceiling was increased without conditions, as President Joe Biden has called for.

“By year-end 2024, employment is 780,000 jobs lower,” Zandi and fellow economist Bernard Yaros wrote in a report.

McCarthy’s proposal would increase the nation’s debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion, in order to stave off a US payments default until March 31, 2024, at the latest. It aims to trim $4.5 trillion in spending over a decade, in part by cutting discretionary spending by $130 billion next year and capping its growth at 1%.

The California Republican has said the House will pass the plan this week.

[female-malice]

Once You See the Truth About Cars, You Can’t Unsee It

By Andrew Ross and Julie Livingston

In American consumer lore, the automobile has always been a “freedom machine” and liberty lies on the open road. “Americans are a race of independent people” whose “ancestors came to this country for the sake of freedom and adventure,” the National Automobile Chamber of Commerce’s soon-to-be-president, Roy Chapin, declared in 1924. “The automobile satisfies these instincts.” During the Cold War, vehicles with baroque tail fins and oodles of surplus chrome rolled off the assembly line, with Native American names like Pontiac, Apache, Dakota, Cherokee, Thunderbird and Winnebago — the ultimate expressions of capitalist triumph and Manifest Destiny.

But for many low-income and minority Americans, automobiles have been turbo-boosted engines of inequality, immobilizing their owners with debt, increasing their exposure to hostile law enforcement, and in general accelerating the forces that drive apart haves and have-nots.

Though progressive in intent, the Biden administration’s signature legislative achievements on infrastructure and climate change will further entrench the nation’s staunch commitment to car production, ownership and use. The recent Inflation Reduction Act offers subsidies for many kinds of vehicles using alternative fuel, and should result in real reductions in emissions, but it includes essentially no direct incentives for public transit — by far the most effective means of decarbonizing transport. And without comprehensive policy efforts to eliminate discriminatory policing and predatory lending, merely shifting to electric from combustion will do nothing to reduce car owners’ ever-growing risk of falling into legal and financial jeopardy, especially those who are poor or Black.

By the 1940s, African American car owners had more reason than anyone to see their vehicles as freedom machines, as a means to escape, however temporarily, redlined urban ghettos in the North or segregated towns in the South. But their progress on roads outside of the metro core was regularly obstructed by the police, threatened by vigilante assaults, and stymied by owners of whites-only restaurants, lodgings and gas stations. Courts granted the police vast discretionary authority to stop and search for any one of hundreds of code violations — powers that they did not apply evenly. Today, officers make more than 50,000 traffic stops a day. “Driving while Black” has become a major route to incarceration — or much worse. When Daunte Wright was killed by a police officer in April 2021, he had been pulled over for an expired registration tag on his car’s license plate. He joined the long list of Black drivers whose violent and premature deaths at the hands of police were set in motion by a minor traffic infraction — Sandra Bland (failure to use a turn signal), Maurice Gordon (alleged speeding), Samuel DuBose (missing front license plate), and Philando Castile and Walter Scott (broken taillights) among them. Despite widespread criticism of the flimsy pretexts used to justify traffic stops, and the increasing availability of cellphone or police body cam videos, the most recent data shows that the number of deaths from police-driver interactions is almost as high as it has been over the past five years.

In the consumer arena, cars have become tightly sprung debt traps. The average monthly auto loan payment crossed $700 for the first time this year, which does not include insurance or maintenance costs. Subprime lending and longer loan terms of up to 84 months have resulted in a doubling of auto loan debt over the last decade and a notable surge in the number of drivers who are “upside down”— owing more money than their cars are worth. But, again, the pain is not evenly distributed. Auto financing companies often charge nonwhite consumers higher interest rates than white consumers, as do insurers.

Formerly incarcerated buyers whose credit scores are depressed from inactivity are especially red meat to dealers and predatory lenders. In our research, we spoke to many such buyers who found it easier, upon release from prison, to acquire expensive cars than to secure an affordable apartment. Some, like LeMarcus, a Black Brooklynite (whose name has been changed to protect his privacy under ethical research guidelines), discovered that loans were readily available for a luxury vehicle but not for the more practical car he wanted. Even with friends and family willing to help him with a down payment, after he spent roughly five years in prison, his credit score made it impossible to get a Honda or “a regular car.” Instead, relying on a friend to co-sign a loan, he was offered a high-interest loan on a pre-owned Mercedes E350. LeMarcus knew it was a bad deal, but the dealer told him the bank that would have financed a Honda “wanted a more solid foundation, good credit, income was showing more,” but that to finance the Mercedes, it “was actually willing to work with the people with lower credit and lower down payments.” We interviewed many other formerly incarcerated people who followed a similar path, only to see their cars repossessed.

LeMarcus was “car rich, cash poor,” a common and precarious condition that can have serious legal consequences for low-income drivers, as can something as simple as a speeding ticket. A $200 ticket is a meaningless deterrent to a hedge fund manager from Greenwich, Conn., who is pulled over on the way to the golf club, but it could be a devastating blow to those who mow the fairways at the same club. If they cannot pay promptly, they will face cascading penalties. If they cannot take a day off work to appear in court, they risk a bench warrant or loss of their license for debt delinquency. Judges in local courts routinely skirt the law of the land (in Supreme Court decisions like Bearden v. Georgia and Timbs v. Indiana) by disregarding the offender’s ability to pay traffic debt. At the request of collection agencies, they also issue arrest or contempt warrants for failure to appear in court on unpaid auto loan debts. With few other options to travel to work, millions of Americans make the choice to continue driving even without a license, which means their next traffic stop may land them in jail.

The pathway that leads from a simple traffic fine to financial insolvency or detention is increasingly crowded because of the spread of revenue policing intended to generate income from traffic tickets, court fees and asset forfeiture. Fiscally squeezed by austerity policies, officials extract the funds from those least able to pay. This is not only an awful way to fund governments; it is also a form of backdoor, regressive taxation that circumvents voters’ input.

Deadly traffic stops, racially biased predatory lending, revenue policing have all come under public scrutiny of late, but typically they are viewed as distinct realms of injustice, rather than as the interlocking systems that they are. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it: A traffic stop can result in fines or arrest; time behind bars can result in repossession or a low credit score; a low score results in more debt and less ability to pay fines, fees and surcharges. Championed as a kind of liberation, car ownership — all but mandatory in most parts of the country — has for many become a vehicle of capture and control.

Industry boosters promise us that technological advances like on-demand transport, self-driving electric vehicles and artificial intelligence-powered traffic cameras will smooth out the human errors that lead to discrimination, and that car-sharing will reduce the runaway costs of ownership. But no combination of apps and cloud-based solutions can ensure that the dealerships, local municipalities, courts and prison industries will be willing to give up the steady income they derive from shaking down motorists.

Aside from the profound need for accessible public transportation, what could help? Withdraw armed police officers from traffic duties, just as they have been from parking and tollbooth enforcement in many jurisdictions. Introduce income-graduated traffic fines. Regulate auto lending with strict interest caps and steep penalties for concealing fees and add-ons and for other well-known dealership scams. Crack down hard on the widespread use of revenue policing. And close the back door to debtors’ prisons by ending the use of arrest warrants in debt collection cases. Without determined public action along these lines, technological advances often end up reproducing deeply rooted prejudices. As Malcolm X wisely said, “Racism is like a Cadillac; they bring out a new model every year.”

[ashapurna-buildcon-limited]

What are the benefits of owning a Second Home in Jodhpur?

When it comes to owning a second home in Jodhpur, most people think of weekend homes or vacation homes. People rarely consider the possibility of owning a second home as a primary residence. A second home in Jodhpur can be a valuable investment in a variety of ways. In this blog, we'll discuss the various benefits of owning a second home in Jodhpur in case you own your primary residence.

Boosts Your Financial Security

Debt Relief

Enlarge Your Real Estate Investment Portfolio

The key to Retirement Wealth

Tax Benefits

A Risk-Free Investment

Second homes offer a variety of benefits. You can obtain financial security, debt reduction, wealth building, and being able to pay off debt with the help of your real estate investment portfolio. If you are looking to buy a home in Jodhpur, then select Ashapurna Buildcon Limited because they are the top developer in Jodhpur with various legal projects in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.

[fincrew]

Government Business Grants: What You Need To Know

Do you need funding for your startup? We'll explore something everyone dreams of free money or securing a grant from the government. The Malaysian government offers many financial aids and grants to help small and medium businesses. You can save your business from bankruptcy with these grants and financial assistance. You can also use it to boost the growth of your business. Here is a list of grants available to small and medium businesses in Malaysia.

Soft Loans For SMEs (SLSME)

If you're a startup or an SME that's relatively young, check out SLSME. With this business grant from the government of Malaysia, you can get up to RM5 million in funding. You will have access to the range of offerings based on the purpose of the grant, so the amount you can receive varies. To qualify for Soft Loans for SMEs, register as one of the following; - Small and medium-sized enterprises incorporated under the Companies Act of 1965. - Businesses incorporated under the 1956 Business Registration Ordinance. - Malaysians held at least 60% of the equity. - Possess a valid premises license. - Owns SMEs with a shareholding of no more than 20% held by public companies; if applicable, only. A significant focus of SLSME is the manufacturing industry and manufacturing-related services, excluding financial and insurance services. Wage Subsidy Programme (WSP 3.0) It is a financial aid program designed to help SMEs or enterprises registered with MCOs pay salaries and wages. Because of the pandemic, there was a reduction in income, so companies had to sack employees or reduce their payouts. A newly-introduced WSP 3.0 is for all companies to help these groups. There is an employee subsidy of RM600 available for every SME or MSME. Employees with a salary of more than or equal to RM 4,000 are eligible to make claims, and no more than 500 employees can. Targeted Loan Repayment Assistance (TRA) Malaysia's government launched the Targeted Loan Repayment Assistance (TRA) program to help small, medium, and micro enterprises hit by the epidemic. TRA is also available to individuals, solopreneurs, and SMEs. Following the pandemic, SMEs will have six months to repay their debts through Targeted Loan Repayment Assistance. If the loan bearer wants to pay the loan in three installments over three months, they can do so if the loan amount is up to RM 150,000. Alternatively, the loan bearer can extend the payment period to 6 months with a 50% monthly installment reduction. A Targeted Loan Repayment Assistance application is readily accepted. You must submit it to the bank that issued you the loan. A business doesn't need to maintain bank connections. Bumiputera Enterprise Enhancement Programme (BEEP) The Bumiputera Enterprise Enhancement Programme, better known as BEEP, is a specialized SME funding program in Malaysia aimed at helping Bumiputera SMEs become more competitive, resilient, and dynamic. They help increase productivity and offer solutions to SMEs by strengthening their core business and capacity. BEEP provides financing solutions to Bumiputera SMEs, including: - Training - Packaging and labeling - Certification and Quality Management System - Innovation - Advertising, Promotion, and Branding SMEs who qualify for this grant can apply through SME Corporation Malaysia. PERMAI Special Prihatin Grant (GKP) The Special Prihatin Grant is a grant that is available to micro, small, and medium-sized businesses. The funding is for assisting these businesses financially and helping them grow. First announced in 2020, the grant is available to micro, small, and medium businesses. You can receive RM 500 if you are a micro, small, or medium enterprise. According to the Malaysian government, one million businesses will benefit from the grant.

Bottom Line

Malaysian government grants intend to provide SMEs with access to help when needed. Government efforts aim to boost the economy. Thus, government grants are positioned and launched in a way accessible to businesses. These grants are easily accessible to all businesses needing financial assistance, and they maintain grant eligibility relatively. Additionally, government officials assist struggling businesses when they cannot apply. It is even possible for a company to leverage the benefit of a grant without even being registered. Read the full article