#hire tax agents

[businesstaxaccountantperth]

Why Do Businesses Trust Tax Agents for Accurate Filing?

Filing taxes can be daunting for businesses, especially when complex regulations and deadlines exist. The stakes are high—errors can lead to penalties, audits, or even damage to the company's reputation. Businesses rely on experienced tax agents to handle this critical task precisely. Hiring tax agents in Perth is a game-changer for businesses aiming for stress-free and accurate tax filing.

1. Expertise in Complex Tax Laws

Tax laws constantly change, and staying updated can be a full-time job. Tax agents dedicate their careers to understanding these intricacies, ensuring businesses comply with the latest regulations.

With the help of tax agents in Perth, businesses gain access to professionals who are well-versed in tax codes and can identify applicable deductions, credits, and exemptions. This expertise ensures your filings are accurate and optimised for maximum benefits.

2. Saves Time and Reduces Stress

Managing a business is a challenging task, and tax preparation often adds to the workload. Gathering documents, organising records, and understanding tax forms can take hours, pulling focus away from core business operations. Tax agents take the burden off your shoulders, allowing you to focus on what you do best—running your business.

"Time is money. By hiring a tax agent, you save both."

When you trust tax agents in Perth, they handle everything from document preparation to submitting your returns on time, ensuring peace of mind and efficiency.

3. Minimises the Risk of Errors

Filing taxes involves precision and attention to detail. Even a minor mistake, like entering the wrong figure or missing a deadline, can lead to penalties or trigger an audit. Tax agents ensure your filings are error-free, double-checking every detail to protect your business from costly consequences.

Hiring tax agents in Perth guarantees that your tax return is handled professionally, leaving no room for oversight. Their meticulous approach helps businesses avoid common pitfalls, saving time and money in the long run.

4. Strategic Financial Guidance

Tax agents don’t just file your taxes—they can also provide valuable financial advice. By analysing your financial data, they can identify opportunities for savings, help you plan for the future, and recommend strategies to minimise your tax burden.

"A good tax agent doesn’t just prepare returns; they prepare you for success."

Partnering with tax agents in Perth allows businesses to make informed decisions that align with their financial goals. Their insights can lead to smarter budgeting, better resource allocation, and long-term growth.

5. Ensures Compliance and Avoids Penalties

Tax compliance is a non-negotiable aspect of running a business. Missing deadlines or failing to comply with regulations can result in hefty fines, audits, or even legal trouble. Tax agents ensure your filings are accurate, timely, and fully compliant with all regulations.

The expertise of tax agents in Perth means your business avoids unnecessary risks. They stay on top of changes in tax policies and deadlines, ensuring that your filings meet all requirements without delay.

6. Tailored Services for Your Business Needs

Every business is unique, and so are its tax requirements. Whether you run a small startup or a large corporation, tax agents offer customised solutions that address your needs. From managing GST returns to handling payroll taxes, they adapt their services to fit your business.

With tax agents in Perth, you get a partner who understands your industry, goals, and challenges. Their personalised approach ensures that your tax strategy aligns with your business plan.

Conclusion

Accurate tax filing isn’t just about meeting obligations—it’s about setting your business up for success. By working with professionals, you ensure compliance, save time, and unlock opportunities for financial growth.

If you’re ready to experience stress-free tax filing, connect with tax agents in Perth today. Let the experts handle the complexities while you focus on growing your business. After all, a trusted tax agent isn’t just a service provider—they’re a vital partner in your journey to success!

[q-kanbas]

Trying to start a business is horrible

[barbiethecryptid]

DC X DP PROMPT

The GIW becomes public after Amity Park is found to be completely ecto contaminated and several agents defect. But the ones who have the biggest problem with the acts are the IRS due to several large cities counting as contaminated and thus the inhabitants being declared non sentient. So the IRS takes a risk and cuts a deal with a villain to take down the GIW. Of course for such a big tax break, the Joker accepts.

(AKA the IRS hires the Joker to take out the GIW to get more money)

[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.

[stardewremixed]

Stardew Valley Employment Headcanons

I've been thinking a lot about how many folks in the Valley don't work. In some ways, it feels realistic. A small town that is clearly dying until the Farmer comes along struggles with unemployment rates. It could be related to high taxes (*side-eyes* I'm looking at you, Lewis) and competitive megacorporations (like Joja) undermining the local economy. However, I'd like to do a little headcanon for the residents and their job situation.

Under spoilers, because TL;DR.

Abigail - after graduating with a degree in art history, Abigail starts working out in her mother's fitness group. She starts swimming at the spa. And she starts a workout regiment with Alex. Of course, this leads her to finally join the Adventure Guild full-time, protecting the Valley and exploring the depths of the mines. She still jams from time to time with Sam and Seb. I also like to think she leads a local Scouts troop.

Alex - this man deserves to have an amazing job as a pro gridball player. However, while he waits, he could coach a local kids team at the Community Center. I can also see him work part-time stocking shelves at Pierre's General Store. Maybe he lifeguards at the Ginger Island Beach during the busy season or drives deliveries out to Sandy in the desert for Pierre. Or he could work with Robin. Mmm... this man, chopping wood... fantasies. He still sells ice cream in the summertime maybe on the weekends or at festival days (because come on, Pierre needs a little competition and I love the idea of pineapple ice cream at the luau and stardrop sorbet at the moonlit jelly fest). I also see him doing odd jobs around the valley until he gets more stable work at Pierre's or Robin's. Need someone to fix your leaky roof? Alex is your man! (Because Evelyn mentions George can't do it anymore).

Elliott - I still like the idea of Elliott's secret wealth and he escaped his family to become a writer. However, maybe he regularly submits poems and sonnets via various contests online under a pseudonym, and does a few freelance articles (maybe on small towns, fishing, romance, etc.). This man deserves to publish a masterpiece and make it on a bestseller list, then gets an agent, and of course, publishes a series. He still does readings in the Valley at the library and the Saloon because he always wants to remember his humble roots and the people who cheered him on when he was a nobody in the business.

Emily - She absolutely needs to start a side-business as the town tailor. It's kind-of already in the lore, but I could see her starting up an online business (maybe with the help of Seb) on an Etsy-esque site. Also, I can see her helping out on the farm for a little something extra when she's not working at the Saloon. Maybe tending to the flowers, watering plants when the Farmer is in the Mines or off on the island or in the desert for the day. She mentions she would like to do this, but Gus apparently frowns on a side job. Hmm... well, I can see this girl eventually leaving her job at the Saloon to pursue her sewing passion full-time. She totally hosts a yoga class in the winter at the Community Center.

Harvey - He is already a well-respected town doctor, but the man is so stressed that he is hardly ever in the Clinic (at least not without mods). I propose Harvey hires some extra help, an associate, maybe another nurse, and a receptionist to assist, especially if patients from surrounding towns (like he mentions) start visiting (i.e. expansions). And he teaches first aid classes at the Community Center.

Haley - Like Leah, she needs an art exhibit to showcase her photography. Unlike the other villagers, I don't see her staying in the Valley, eventually pursuing the work of a freelance photographer and traveling the world (like her absentee parents). She does make an annual trip back for the Flower Dance, her favorite festival. I have pursued Haley the least in game so I'm struggling to come up with more ideas here.

Leah - Speaking of Leah, she transforms the Valley into a premier art destination. She can teach art classes at the renovated Community Center. She teams up with Seb and Sam (and drags Elliott along for the ride, and the writing) to produce an avant-garde film about the art all around us in small towns. I also think she grows her own herbs and sells them at Pierre's, festivals, and the Farmer's Markets (as she gives me green witch vibes). Maybe she partners with Caroline (or the Wizard) to create some herbal potions and creams. And of course, she's still at it with woodworking, though these days she works on commission for those types of projects.

Sam - This man deserves to be a rock star. And I think he'd make a great solo artist. However, if his guitarist dreams don't pan out, he has options. In the vanilla game, he starts working with Gunther at the museum after JojaMart closes. It's a strange choice, but... I figure, maybe he minored in anthropology in college. He would absolutely give amazing tours of the museum, full of exuberant commentary, perfect for kids field trip days too. And I think he plays gigs in Zuzu City and at the Saloon regularly, and maybe even out at Sophia's winery (Stardew Valley Expanded).

Maru - Nursing just doesn't really seem to fit this woman of multiple interests. She finally pursues her passion of robotics and goes to work in a proper lab in a nearby City (doesn't have to be Zuzu - my headcanon is Pine-Mesa City or Grampleton from Stardew Valley Expanded). I think she makes regular trips to the Planetarium too. I could see her visiting the Valley on long weekends, and maybe taking the local kids club on a night-time stargazing event in the summer.

Sebastian - Please give this man a proper window in his basement, Robin! Okay, if he doesn't marry the Farmer, Seb moves out anyway and goes to live in the City for a while, to find investors for his indie game studio. In the meantime, he continues to do freelance programming work. And then, one day, he makes a breakthrough game that revolutionizes the industry. After making A LOT of money, he invests in a SAVE-THE-FROGS campaign, hires multiple developers and other staff, and starts working on his next big game. But he still makes time to jam with Sam and Abi from time to time, and of course, take long rides on his motorcycle.

Penny - This poor woman needs some love. Penny pursues her higher education and officially receives her teaching license. She is hired by the local school district so she can do more than just tutor. She can finally afford her own little apartment. She starts a kids club in the Community Center, and creates a summer reading program at the Stardew Library. And I like to think she takes a monthly trip to Zuzu City to shop in a big bookstore for fresh reading material when she has some down time.

Shane - Oh this guy is definitely a mess. If you don't "romance" him in game, he doesn't really turn his life around, and even if he does, it doesn't really point to recovery as it should, imo (without the help of mods). This man hates his job, and yet he feels stuck. I propose the following. After he recovers in therapy, completes rehab, and genuinely quits drinking (forever), and of course, loses his job at Joja (suck it, Morris!), Shane starts working at Marnie's shop and contracts out as a farmhand all around the Valley. Then he can be a proper godfather to Jas, and provide some actual service at the Ranch (when Marnie's off doing who knows what with you know who...)

I have thoughts for the other Villagers in the Valley too, but I'll save those for a different post.

[traegorn]

So when I do finish this book I am writing (speaking it into existence bc adhd is a BITCH) Like what's your experience with publishing? How much does it usually cost? What kinda income does one get? I don't really care about making money but it would be super neat to make something since I cannot work. How do taxes work on that also? Google is confusing me

So far i have an idea and half a first chapter with thrilling notes such as " add a cat" and "insert spell here"

So I self publish, so that's the world I know. If you want to find a traditional publisher, you'll need to query agents and do a bunch of other stuff. My only advice for traditional publishing is that when going that route, money should always flow towards the author. If they're asking you to pay for something, they aren't a traditional publisher and there's a good chance it's a grift.

So let's talk about what I do know.

(And this turned out to be long as hell, so I'm putting in a "keep reading")

When you self publish, you are effectively acting as the publisher. If you want someone to do edits? You'll have to hire an editor. If you want someone to do the book layouts? You'll have to hire someone to do it if you can't do it yourself. You need a cover? You get the idea.

Now I don't pay an editor, so I can't really give you a price range on how much they cost off the top of my head. I do know they can get expensive though.

I also do all my own interiors, but I have a graphic design background and have been doing print layouts for decades. If you want to hire someone to do the interiors, that can run you $100-500, so I recommend just... learning to do it yourself.

Frankly, it's not terribly hard. I do mine in Apple Pages on my Mac for my paperbacks and Amazon has a free program for formatting eBooks (which you can export both as the Kindle format OR the more universal ePub format). With your print version, you just want to make sure you get your margins right, along with using a standard font like Times New Roman.

Like, literally just pick up a book and study the layout. Look at the front matter (copyright page, title page, etc) of a handful of books and mimic what you find there. I don't know why so many self published authors get that bit wrong. It's a book. Format it like a book.

Now the cover... this is where you'll probably end up spending something. I do my own covers for my comics, but hire out for my novels because I can't do the kind of covers expected of my genre. And you do want to match your genre, because you want a potential reader to know what they're getting into. I've seen so many self published books with terrible covers and it drives me nuts.

Cover design can run you anywhere from $35-$400 depending on who you choose to contract, and this is where I recommend you spend your money. On the cheap end you have companies like GetCovers. Now they primarily do covers made from edited stock photos, and I've honestly been pretty satisfied with their work... but you have to hold their hand and be very clear with what you want.

GetCovers is a part of Mibl Group, and it's pretty much all of their most inexperienced employees. The whole point of it is to get them the experience to work on bigger projects down the road. They have cheaper packages, but for their best work you'll probably only spend like $35-$45. If you're working in a genre that mainly uses stock images, that's who you want.

I often end up retouching the covers they do though, because I'm impatient. Like there are edits to The Witch and the Rose and Shadowcasting I made after they handed me the completed files. You're going to have to be very specific with what you want. The first version of the Bloody Damn Rite cover they did... was awful. But they did the revisions I asked for, and the version they delivered in the end was great.

Now if you want, like, original art or just more complicated, custom stuff? You're looking at at least $250 on the cheap end, but sometimes you end up in the ballpark of $700-$1000. Like on their regular site (just to use the same company as GetCovers for comparison), the Mibl group charges like $300 for a more complicated stock photo based cover (that requires more complicated edits) and at least $700 for covers that require digital painting, 3d modeling, etc.

There are a wide range of prices depending on what you're asking for. But, y'know, you're paying that once for a commercial piece of graphic design.

I'm cheap and can do some of the work myself, so I go for the $35 cover. I also figure out what fonts they used for the covers, so I can go buy my own commercial license for them and replicate a similar logo on my title page. You don't need to do that bit, I'm just finicky.

Actually publishing the book is easy. You'll want to use a self publishing platform like Kindle Direct Publishing or IngramSpark (or, if you're like me, both). I sell KDP books on Amazon, but all other distribution is through IngramSpark. You make more money on Amazon by using KDP, but even though they offer distribution, no book store will ever order through them. So I turn that option off, and then I take the same book and I make it available through IngramSpark.

On amazon I make a little more than $2 on a $3 ebook, and about $4.00 on a $12.99 paperback. When a bookstore buys an IngramSpark version, I make about $2.50 on a $14.99 book (if you wondered by my books cost more when not buying it through Amazon... that's why). Now if you buy yourself author copies, they cost way less -- in the end I think I can get them for like $5 a book? So when I sell them in person, my margins are much higher.

But, y'know, you have to actually sell them.

Because that's the hard part. When self publishing, you only have you to market it. I don't know how many books I'd be selling if I didn't have a pre-existing audience -- and even then it's not a huge amount. I've sold about 200 books this year? Which isn't nothing, and I appreciate every single person who's purchased one of my titles, but it's obviously not enough to quit my day job for, y'know?

That said, I've known people who do sell enough to make a steady living. So it's possible for sure.

But it's not going to happen overnight, and it won't be easy.

As for taxes, you'll need a 1099 and do stuff with the Schedule C. I always forget exactly what until I'm actually doing them, but it's not super hard, just annoying.

[rozeliyawashereyall]

I fucked around, I found out, and I came out with an AU that wouldn't make the slightest of sense in the actual universe of where the series take place

But do indulge me, cringe AUs are addictively fun to make.

Thanks to @weltthejellyfish , @lightdragon789 , and @astralbulldragon13 for writing like, 98% of everything, would be clueless about my own AU without you 🙏

Anywho chat. Casino AU.

The casino is kind of like?? A haunted house?? Or at least the concept of it. Yeah human owned places are scattered publicly, but halfblood owned ones are in more secluded and secretive places—no human was allowed into said places, only those who are like, an altruist for halfbloods, and even they have very limited access.

Bug getting into the casino would be very difficult, they'd have to first find out where the casino even is, find it and pretend to be an ally and after that slowly work their way up and face some pretty hard challenges

The casino is a family business that was bustling at first but Cercie caught wind of it and started hunting down every family member until it was only bodie left. With only Bodie running the business, he finds a college graduate, Marco, and decides to hire him as a dealer. A few years later and he finds a kid abandoned by his step parents, Timmy, and the rest is history.

•

The descriptions of the three in the drawings:

-​Swamp of Fortune was a family business run by the Willowroots, but after Cercei caught wind of it she started hunting down every family member until it was only Bodie left. Stressed and paranoid about his safety, he closed the casino down and resulted to alcohol for a few years before meeting Marco, a shady college graduate who's determined to help he guy out of his slump. One thing lead to another and now the casino is both getting popular again and is under watch by the government for alleged suspicious practices.

-​Marco Palustris Cydarki dropped out of college after his involvement with dangerous people led to concerns for his safety. While he majored in computer science, his real talent lies in the arts. After dropping out, he found refuge with Bodie, an older man who just happens to own a casino, one that has a history of questionable purchases and suspicious rumors. Marco has been assisting him in various capacities since being taken in. Whether Bodie's influence is protective or manipulative remains to be seen, but Marco has stuck around, likely owing something to his benefactor.

-​Timmy’s life has been a mix of captivity and survival. Born under Cercie Fain’s control, his parents faked his death, cutting off his dragon wings to pass him off as a regular gator half-blood. After being auctioned off, he was raised by Elizabeth Wheat on a half-blood farm until Cercie’s men took him. He later escaped, and found himself stranded and injured in the city, where Bodie found him and became a father figure for the guy. Since then, he's grown into a mini-manager at the casino, following in Bodie’s footsteps as a floor supervisor. Despite being the smallest his presence is larger than life.

•

These little guys personalities are a mix of OG and BM. So more sadistically playful, hence the neutral/hate relationship Marco and Timmy have with bug in this AU. Timmy and Marco probably see Bug as just a new pet, but with them getting more popular around the casino and climbing up— they could turn from a pet to a threat to the two. When it’s revealed that they’re a cop, they probably do some very… thorough interrogation to make sure they are actually on the casino’s side. Then maybe Bug offers to be a Triple Agent. They're lucky Bodie likes them around, I fear they would NOT survive if he didn't enjoy their company, they'd be torn apart if it wasnt for him...he may have used that to his advantage..but Bodie’s just so sweet, they’d never suspect anything..

•

Crimes👍

​Money laundering

​Bootlegging

​Illegal gambling

​Probably murder ngl

​Loan sharking

​Labor racketeering

​stock manipulation

​Tax fraud

•

Stupid stuff:

​They'd only start calling bug, well, bug, because they were caught in their trap, and they have a habit of playing with their food. After they start using Bug as a double agent they start throwing in other nicknames—First it was just bug but then it'd turn into more playful variations of it (IE: Waterbug, Sugarbug, Bedbug, etc) The day Bodie calls them Sugar Bug, they are caught so off guard

​Bodie gifted Bug a pair of butterfly earrings as a welcome gift, only for the earrings to turn out to be a tracking device/listening ddevice.

​Timmy would drink like five cocktails and get black out drunk because they don’t taste like alcohol. Mudslide would be his favorite though. I can picture Marco drinking red wine, he'd would like mulled wine or wassail during winter. Bodie is either whiskey, or bourbon, but during business meetings, they all drink Willowroot family recipe Moonshine

​Bodie still drinks but has cut back. He only drinks half a bottle compared to the two a day he used to drink.

Bug's aim is so fucking bad bro, it's storm trooper level bad

More stupid stuff but timeline version, kinda, idk actually:

-Bug was tasked to locate the casino, gets chased and almost mauled by a halfblood before Bodie intervenes and helps Bug from dying.

- I'd imagine when Bug is recovering and is eager to work to repay Bodie back. He asks Timmy to keep watch of Bug and kind of assesses Bug to see if they could work at the casino and the two talk from there

-Then Bodie and Timmy along with Bug, go out on a walk, talking about taxe evasion, casinos, and mafias, all that fun jazz. But they stumble upon Tony and Sparkie trying to track down any rogue halfbloods. prompt them to relay it to Cercie that Bug found the casino and she sends the hunters to bug, just to tell them to get every secret they can find and report back to them. Which Bug is very hesitant on doing. Not only because they’ve helped them and shown they aren’t the monsters their people painted them as... also because these gator folk could kill them very easily.

Like the end of episode 3 or maybe when Marco comes in with info on Bug (that maybe Bodie asked Marco to do a background check or interrogate Bug idk man) and that’s when they ask Bug to be a double agent

-It’s been a few months (maybe) and Bug is stressing but pulling through being a double agent in relaying info to both sides. But also getting closer to the bois as they treated them slightly better then Cercie and her people did. Which results in Bug confiding in Bodie and being accepted into their lives.

Idk what to do with the rest bro you figure it out.

Last stupid stuff I promise

Okay I'm done now

Yippee @capitalmaudios @magebunkshelf @dayspriteofficial

[autisticshadowthehedgehog]

i think they should have rouge in sonic 3 but she still works for gun. with the whole “people work for gun and research aliens” thing have them reveal that actually they just liked one and were like yeah we can hire her as a spy. this is revealed towards the end of the movie like in sa2, and half the characters (mostly other gun agents) had no idea she even worked for them and are like “what the fuck is this organisations hierarchy how many top secret furries does this org have”. every subsequent character introduced to the scu has some sort of gun connection, mostly either working for them or trying to be recruited for various purposes. they see amy wielding her big ass hammer and assume she has some sort of innate power that can be harnessed like knuckles and they use her polite and slightly naive disposition to lure her in. once it becomes clear they wanna do experiments on her she kicks their asses and during the ensuing fight someone manages to pluck one of her quills and discovers it has no energy and is just a regular ass quill. amy is deeply offended and confused by them ruining her hair. the last remaining conscious gun agent pleads with horror: “how are you this strong?” and she says “you ever heard of the gym???” and knocks him out cold. later down the line team chaotix get hired as a top secret investigative task force. the plot hinges on gun assuming they’re special in some way that makes their work more effective than human agents, mostly because vector oversold them in an effort to land a gig because rent was due, however the audience is clearly shown all of their successes over regular gun agents have been pure coincidences. once it becomes clear they’re not all that special or more effective, gun is like “do you guys not have any superpowers ?? special abilities ?? exceptional skills ??”. “i’m literally a ninja?” espio says, not knowing what more they could want. “one in five cases comes with a discount..?” vector tries. “i know how to tax evade” charmy helpfully provides.

anon you're hired

[one-of-many-mothmen]

Yall can we talk abt just how SMART and TALENTED Stan Pines is??

Like first off, his entire childhood lowkey wasnt good. Like he had to deal with:

he was the "stupid twin". He was always seen as lesser to Ford,

Whatever abuse Filbrick put his through

Self hatred at a early age

Bullies and always having to defend his brother from them

Boxing injuries(which hurt like a motherfucker btw)

but despite that he was still so creative. Like the was shown to love drawing and making comics, but also fixing up the Stan O' War.

Then, when he was homeless he was juggling:

keeping his car running so he probably knows some mechanics,

learning SPANISH (bc he was in Columbia for a while) and maybe other languages for other places he went

switching identities every few months

Managing his buisnesses and production of the shitty products

Probably PTSD

AND trying not to die while being involved in very illegal groups. Like bro must have been STRESSING

AND HE DIDNT EVEN GET TO CATCH A BREAK AFTER ALL OF THAT!! Because after Ford got pulled into the portal he had EVEN MORE SHIT TO DEAL WITH!

He had to:

Learn mechanical engineering, Quantum physics, and probably a lot of other stuff to try to fix the portal WHITHOUT EVEN A HIGHSCHOOL DIPLOMA

Getting the materials and trying to fix the portal with 1/6 OF THE INSTRUCTIONS!! (Including invisible ink)

Look for the other journals, which we arent even sure he knew how many there were

RUNNING A BUISNESS!! So making attractions, taxes, running the counter, doing inventory, hiring process, doing tours, etc

Dealing with the grief and guilt of losing his brother and not knowing if he was alive

And FAKING HIS DEATH, Planning and going to HIS OWN FUNERAL, WHICH NO ONE WHEN TO BESIDES HIS MOM AND AN IRS AGENT

It's just. I love Stanley Pines SO MUCH. He has had SUCH A HARD LIFE OH MY GOD😭 Bro was STRUGGLING

[meret118]

As one of their first moves in the House majority—after their little struggle to even elect a speaker, that is—Republicans have a bill to roll back more than $70 billion in IRS funding included in the Inflation Reduction Act. In fact, fresh off his contentious election as speaker, Kevin McCarthy bragged about this plan, saying, “I know the night is late, but when we come back our very first bill will repeal the funding for 87,000 new IRS agents.” (That 87,000 number is a lie, by the way.)

Funny story, though: The Congressional Budget Office is out with its estimate of the fiscal impact of this bill cutting more than $70 billion … and it would decrease federal revenue by $186 billion between 2023 and 2032. In other words, the bill would cost more than $114

The claim here is that it’s going to help the little people—they’re even calling the bill the “Family and Small Business Taxpayer Protection Act”—because that sounds a lot better than admitting that the Inflation Reduction Act’s IRS funding is about making sure the very wealthiest pay the taxes they owe. Yes, it means hiring new auditors, but ones specifically tasked with pursuing wealthy tax evaders, not small businesses or families making less than hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

In fact, households with earnings of less than $400,000 a year “will likely see the chance of an audit decline,” according to the Treasury Department. That’s because right now, the lowest-income households are audited at far higher rates than the highest-income ones. The money that Republicans want to repeal is intended to change that.

[darkmaga-returns]

by Tyler Durden

The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) division, the armed enforcement wing of the IRS tasked with combating financial crimes, has expanded its workforce by nearly 11 percent, bringing staffing levels to their highest in nearly a decade and boosting the division’s conviction rate to 90 percent, according to the IRS-CI’s latest annual report.

As Tom Ozimek reports, via The Epoch Times, the fiscal year 2024 report, released on Dec. 5, outlines a year of intensified enforcement for the IRS-CI, which serves as the tax agency’s law enforcement branch that focuses on tax violations that cross into criminal territory.

The report shows that the division achieved several firsts over the past year, including the first sentencing for syndicated conservation easement schemes, the first cryptocurrency tax fraud indictment, and a record-setting financial settlement with Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, for anti-money laundering violations.

IRS-CI special agents, who are authorized to carry guns and use lethal force, now number 2,290 after a hiring spree added 146 employees to its ranks over the fiscal year. The division’s overall workforce expansion is the largest in nearly a decade, bringing total headcount to 3,474 employees. Between 2010 and 2020, the division’s staffing numbers fell from 4,017 to 2,858.

IRS-CI Chief Guy Ficco said in the report that the demands on the division’s workforce have increased as “criminals utilize new venues, revise their techniques, and use emerging technologies to facilitate financial crimes.”

[saltyyuuri]

🪻In another life🪻

Iso x fem! Reader

PART 1

PART 1 - PART 2 - PART 3 - PART 4 - PART 5 - PART 6 - PART 7 - PART 8 - PART 9 - PART 10

Words: 4100

Warnings: mention of blood- mild violence and mental health. It's going to be angsty. This warning is simply going to be copy pasted to all chapters

Authors note; I may have started writing this before the poll finished, but votes seemed to lean to this fic, and I had a really good idea. I hope you guys enjoy this fic as much as I liked my idea, it's been trotting in my head for days now.

note 2: I wrote this entire fucking thing in 2.5 days- send help. 35k words. HELP.

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"You know (Y/N), I really don't understand why you stick around him so much." Clove said, their head cocked to the side in slight curiosity and a bit in concern. They were currently hanging out in your dorm room in the protocol headquarters; everyone was assigned a dorm as soon as they got employed here, as living in the headquarters makes it easier to reach out to everyone.

It also made it a lot easier for team bonding and coordinating, and just like right now you are hanging out with your friend, one of the more recent agents, Clove. "I just... Well, we work well together and we are practically always paired up for Missions." I said softly, letting out a small hum along with my statement.

"Like I get that, but (Y/N), he literally doesn't even look your way as soon as the missions are over. Like- you two come back and you suddenly don't exist anymore." Clove said a bit bluntly, but you ever take that was something you appreciated of them. They were very blunt when they were honest, but you rather have someone who was honest even if the delivery was a bit harsh rather than somebody who would tiptoe around the subject. That was one of the reasons why you two became friends quit rapidly.

"I know.... Don't worry, I know." You sigh, your shoulders slumping a bit. The current topic of conversation? Iso. You and Iso were hired nearly within the same time frame, barely a week apart. You two have very different upcoming when it came to becoming a radiant, learning to use your powers and how you use them- but surprisingly the two of you worked very well together.

It was a balance; Iso could essentially break down radianite down to the molecular level, using it as a shield or to disrupt other radiants and even creating his own pocket dimension - And you could reverse all of it, not only able to heal regular wounds but also Radiant based wounds, though it was quite taxing for the second part. You could also give teammates or yourself a boost- where all your senses would be amplified for a short period of time. Your ultimate allowed you to steal enemy life and redistribute it to yourself and teammates.

"If I were you, I would ask Brimstone to stop pairing you two together. Like c'mon, if Iso wants the premium duo, he needs to treat you like the premium duo!" Clove continued to ramble on slightly angrily, of course not against you, but just generally against the situation. "We both know Brimstone would never accept that- me and Iso have the highest success rate as a duo when it comes to missions." I said, bursting Clove's rant a bit. "Plus... Say he did replace me- we all know it would immediately fall straight to Sage.."

Now that was a little bit of a stingy subject for you, not because you dislike Sage or anything, actually quite the opposite. You really did appreciate her a lot and all the useful tips and guidance she can give. What you didn't really appreciate was how Iso would practically be swarming around her like a bug all the time.

That sounds a little exaggerated, he's not quite a bug. More like... A sort of guard dog, always trailing around her and keeping her company. Every few days he'd hang out with her, taking her out for food and snacks or just tag along to one of her shopping trips. Anyone who would just observe him during those times would assume that he's absolutely smitten with her.

"Yeah... I can see why that's a little bit of a problem. So your options are either dealing with the fact you become a ghost the moment you're done your mission with him- or simply stop seeing him in general." Clove said, a sour look on their face. Even though they wanted to give their absolute honest opinion on the situation and say 'just stop trying and move on', Clove knew better. You really liked Iso, tto the point of developing feelings.

Of course, it probably seemed ridiculous to have feelings for someone who didn't even seem to acknowledge your existence- but there was reason to the cause. And that reason came from going on missions with him as his duo. One of the reasons why you two were often so successful was because of how well you completed each other on the missions. While he would take on the major part of the killing tasks, your job was to boost him or heal him as needed, and cover his back. And if you ever got in some sort of danger, he was extremely rapid to react, not hesitating to throw Shield your way to cover you.

He even went as far as standing directly in front of you sometimes, using his self regenerating The Shield to cover. And whenever the fight would die down he would just instantly check on you first before anything else. Those small actions, small gestures, those were all little things that you thought meant something more. Or at least until you realized he was too busy with Sage the moment you were back at protocol headquarters.

"Clove, is it stupid for me to have hope for this?" I said with a small sigh, sinking further down in my bed. There was a moment of silence, a pause of consideration on their end. It was a small silences like this that you strongly disliked-whenever somebody had to think about how to lay the truth. It always made you anxious, you didn't like having to have it sweetened- because the nicer they try to put it the more you'll ever think it.

"if you want my brute opinion- I would say yes. But a more... Romanticized opinion? I would probably say to just hang on, prove your worth and try to get his attention." Clove finally said, finishing their sentence with a small nod. Even though the brute opinion was a bit of a punch to the gut- you were so glad that they gave it to you. "Thank you. I'll... I'll see what I do." You sigh soflty once again, trying to relax just slightly.

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And the next day, you are standing at the hangar, dressed in your mission clothes and your weapons equipped. You and Iso boarded the small aircraft that was going to bring you over towards one of the teleporters to add into the Omega Earth. You have to once again go on a mission with him, a mission that have been planned meticulously for a few months now.

It wasn't quite like the other ones, because most of the other ones were done on this Earth and not so much against Omega agents. This time you do have to go face the Omega agents, needing to extract information to figure out their next moves when it comes to planting spikes. They have been getting a little more and more gutsy when it came to their attacks, and it was hard to anticipate them all.

So, you two are going to be sent onto the mirror earth, on one of the sites that you were familiar with, except this version being in the Omega Earth. You were heading the the site 'Icebox', not necessarily your favorite one but still not the worst. You sadly had no idea which Omega agents were going to be there and just how many there was going to be- nor did you know if you would find exactly all you needed.

But one thing that was made clear in the planning, we needed to stick together the whole time and stick to the scouting routes that we had practiced a few times on our Alpha Earth site. And if things got too rowdy, you needed to call for backup immediately and fall back.

You try to strike up small talk with Iso as the aircraft took off to head towards the teleporter, hoping that this attempt could maybe be fruitful. "So, not to nervous? It is going to be your first time heading to Omega Earth." You asked casually, looking up towards the Chinese ex hitman- Iso.

"No." He replied to bit flatly, his expression unreadable as always. You didn't think he was going to be that dry with his response, so you definitely took a moment to think of something else to ask or say. It was hard to get anything out of him, even a damn conversation. But if it was Sage to ask this-you probably would have been talking away...

"Damn, I'm nervous - it's mostly the unpredictable parts that are making me a bit uneasy." You continued the conversation a bit, to see if he would put a bit of effort in continuing it. "Don't be. If you're too nervous, you won't be able to aim right." He said, once again in the same flat tone with the same unreadable expression. "Haha... Right..." You let out a slightly awkward laugh as you turned away, your gaze shifting to look outside the window. Yet another dry conversation, already ended after four sentences.

The aircraft finally landed, now at the facility that contained the portal to Omega Earth. It wasn't at the same facility as headquarters for security reasons-but that doesn't matter much right now. You both made your way over to the portal, double checking to make sure that you had all your weapons and equipment prepared and functional. Once the last checkups are done- you two stepped foot in the portal.

It surprised you a bit on how fast it happened-you are kind of expecting something like from Fantasy where portals make you feel a bit queasy or confused; but you are perfectly fine and just transported within a second. Better yet, this portal seem to land you directly beside their own site, Icebox.

Iso took the lead immediately, as he always did during your missions. He was always a few steps ahead while you walked and made sure to check over your shoulder often. It was a quiet arrangement that you two have made from the beginning, and one that worked very well so far. Plus, of the two of you, he had memorized the routes much better when it came to that traject we were supposed to stick to, so you would rather have him in the front.

It took about 20 minutes of walking from the portal to reach the site, and that time was probably up to bit because of the weather. Over here, unlike on our earth, there was a whole blizzard going on. It was hard to see you more than 20 m in front of us and it was really cold, much colder than expected. But it wasn't time to start being bothered by all of that.

Iso led the walk still, following the pre-decided route that we had studied quite a few times before coming here. We would start by heading towards A site, clearing that area first before going through mid, clearing kitchen and tunnel before heading towards B to clear off fully.

And so, you followed the tall, quiet chinese man around to A site, now that you were inside the building it was a lot easier to see around, unlike outside where the blizzard made it practically impossible to fully clear sites. You followed him up, taking zip lines to go across and clear the site faster. Since you had a better visibility in here, you're a lot more vigilant when it came to double-checking your flank and corners.

You weren't really liking how quiet everything was-both between you and Iso, but also on the sites. There was no sign of activity so far and you were done clearing A site. Of course you could do the basic assumption that because the blizzard, Omega agents probably didn't want to brave the cold to double check their site- but that felt like hopeful thinking more than tactical.

You once again I had to go outside to fight said blizzard, walking over to the staircase that would lead to the kitchen area and the the tunnel. While Iso did the main job of clearing the corners and double checking that no one was there, your attention got caught by the little billboard over the sink in the kitchen. You have to hold back a small giggle when you saw one of the signs, written in bold black Sharpie, 'STOP BUILDING SNOWMANS!' And scribbled on, with a bright colored pen, 'No! >:(' . It was something small and simple, but it was also a great reminder that Omega Earth was just as human as us- the terrifying thought that no one really liked thinking about.

When Iso was done clearing his corners, we finally started walking down the tunnel towards the b-site. It was the last area to clear, and seeing how everything was so quiet, you were trying to be a little hopeful that you were right on your assumption earlier, is that maybe Omega agents really didn't feel like braving a blizzard over this.

You both took quiet steps, mindful to stay discreet and quiet even if the place seemed inoccupied. You had your gun held up, once again making sure to keep an eye on the flank while Iso pushed forward. We finally came out on the little bridge that led to B tower, taking the little zipline down to cover site. Nothing seemed out of the norm and everything looked pretty calm on our end.

Iso, who seems very tense, finally used his comms to send some information over towards our team, radioing that everything seems clear for now and that we would be able to start working on the main part of the mission. While he was doing that, you turn to look back site, spotting yet another snowman just chilling about. It made you smile- something about seeing this many snowman, almost just like the site back at home, it was nice.

That was until you heard "IT'S YOU AND ME" being declared loudly, quickly realizing that that was not coming from your own teammate- immediately coming on high alert. But before any of you could react, it was you who got pulled into the pocket dimension, the world around you fading from a crazy white and metal boxes to a lilac world.

You have never been inside Iso's pocket dimension before, so it was quite unfamiliar. You didn't expect to be transported into such a small space, a giant Shield mounted in front of you. You held your gun a bit tighter, considering sidestepping the peak one side of the shield in front of you. But before you could even consider doing that, it dissipated not even a second later.

The suddenness of leaving you fully uncovered made your heart drop, your head snapping one direction to another trying to spot him- the Omega earth Iso. He ended up being a lot closer than you expected, he was off to your left with his Sheriff pointed towards you, looking indifferent at first.

You didn't know why but at that moment you froze. There was something about this whole scene that you really didn't like-and you weren't able to pull the trigger. But oddly enough, he also didn't pull the trigger. The two of you just stood there for a few moments, guns pointed out each other but no one's firing. The silence was heavy and for that short period, the two of you kept a poker face even though there was turmoil going on in your heads.

"I can't do this." The Omega Earth Iso said, immediately lowering his gun. His expression changed, going from poker face and cold, the same when you were used to with your own Iso- to an guilty, sad look. It definitely took you off guard, and you too lowered your weapon. When he decided to put his back in its sheath, you did the same. You have no idea why he was doing this, but you couldn't really judge him for it because you also can't pull the trigger.

There was yet another moment of silence, the two of you staring at each other. Once again he was the one to break the silence first. "I don't I want to hurt you. I know-.. I know you're not MY (Y/N), but I don't... I can't." He said a bit quietly, that same guilty expression on his face. You were intrigued to say the least- a knot forming in your stomach both from nervousness... And a bit of a flutter?

You tried to push down the flutter, he was the Omega Earth Iso, not your own! It was just the same person different font. "Why-?... If you don't mind me asking of course-" You asked him Softly, your own tone pretty gentle. You took a few cautious steps his way, the situation was bizarre and the curiosity was getting the better of you.

"... Well, you're not my (Y/N)... I guess saying it wouldn't be weird-" He said a bit quietly once more, not backing away when you walked towards him. Instead he did seem to tense up a bit, but not from mistrust-he just looked very nervous all of a sudden. "I love (Y/N)- ... And I don't want to hurt her. And I know you're not her but I just- I don't want to."

Your eyes widened in Surprise. That was definitely not what you were expecting him to say, if anything you were expecting something polar opposite. You took a moment to process his words-for some reason they made you very giddy and that fluttering in your stomach became a bit worse. You had to remind yourself once again that this wasn't your Iso- and that whether you like it or not, you were not the one he was confessing to.

"That's... News. My Iso barely even acknowledges me outside of missions." You said softly, a hint of sadness in your voice as you spoke. You didn't know why you were just telling him this, just like how he didn't know why he was confessing to you. "I ... I also have feeling for my Iso. But... He has eyes elsewhere." You finished off, looking away as you spoke. It felt really odd to just confess this to the Omega version of Iso, but in a way it felt liberating. Finally just saying it to him-even if it wasn't quite him.

"My (Y/N) is the same- she barely even notices me outside of missions, she's usually hanging out with someone else -..." The Omega Iso said, his words trailing off in realization. You two were going through the exact same thing-but mirrored. He was living through what you were living through- leaving you both a bit in pain from it all.

You relaxed a little bit, deciding to take another step towards him. You are about an arm's length away from him, but not really minding being this close to the enemy. Not when neither of you would be able to draw weapons at each other, even less after hearing the small confessions.

"Let me guess, Sage?" You asked him, deciding to strike up some small talk while you two were stuck in his pocket dimension. Iso nodded- his eyes widening a little bit. "Is that who your Iso is always hanging out with too?" You simply nodded and response to his question, a small sad smile on my face. "Yep. Don't get me wrong I'm not mad at her- I respect her and appreciate her too much anyways. Just... I guess it just feels unfair in a way. She doesn't even try, and he is essentially wrapped around her finger. Actually, I'd say pretty much everyone on the team is like that."

You said with a small smile, you refused to talk bad about Sage, no matter how frustrating my situation was. Plus, when you talk to Clove about it, they were able to give an outside point of view of it all- which made you realize that if you wanted to be upset against someone, that it should be Iso.

Iso took a small moment to process your words, which seem to be hitting pretty close to home. The situation really seemed to be mirrored, and you felt bad for him. You know how it felt, and he knew how you felt. It was an odd feeling, one that felt very crazy but also very comforting in a way.

"Can I... Hug you?" You asked a bit awkwardly, you aren't sure if you were overstepping by asking that. You two were supposed to be enemies after all, and you didn't know if he was even comfortable to do even that to begin with. But any of your overthinking got quieted down immediately- Iso wrapped his arms around you quickly, holding you tightly against him.

There was something about this embrace that just felt... Right. Wrong but right. There was definitely something off; like how you were from two different universes and interacting this way- it was definitely wrong. But it felt right because it was with the right person. You hugged back, resting your head against his shoulder for just a moment.

The two of you stayed like that for a few moments, appreciating the other's company even in the unfortunate situation. Two touch starved individuals who just wanted attention from their person, but now getting it from a different version of their person. The only thing was the underlying problem for the two of you, the problem that you were from different worlds, that you were supposed to be enemies.

"I needed that." Iso said softly, slowly pulling away from the embrace. His touch was gentle, his hands were resting on your shoulders. You didn't mind, letting him keep the contact. You let out a soft sigh, nodding to his statement. ''I think I needed that too." I answered quietly.

"... Well... We'll have to leave this place soon; I can only control it's time flow so much-" Iso said softly, a look of disappointment on his face. You have the same look, already losing this moment so soon. And for a moment there was another pause before he had to speak up again. "Um.. I don't know if your Iso explained to you how our ultimate works..?" Iso started to ask a bit nervously, looking away for a moment.

"not really, he kind of briefly mentions it but he doesn't explain anything." You said with a small shake of you head as you spoke. "Why so?" He paused for a moment, a look of guilt Crossing his face again. "Well, to leave this place one of us has to die." He said a bit bluntly even though his face still looked pained. "I'll take the shot. My sage isn't too far by. I just... Well I guess I'm sorry for what you're about to see-" he said as he reached over to his gun, pulling out the sheriff from his holster.

Your eyes widened, slight panic taking over. "Wait wait wait, what are you going to do-? Wait, hold on!" You yelled out, but before you could react, he had pressed the gun against his temple and pulled the trigger- the pocket dimension shattering into thousands of purple pieces. You let out a scream, not expecting him to pull that move- and also not liking the image that got engraved in your head.

When you're transported back to the spot you were first taken from when Omega Iso used his ultimate, you were breathing heavily, looking a bit panicked. You composed yourself as fast as you could, at least trying to fix your expression to not show the panic you were feeling inside- especially because when you turned around, your face to face with your own Iso.

The one who looked at you indifferently, just raising an eyebrow. He quickly looked over you, circling around you to make sure you had no physical injuries before finally asking: "You okay? You were in there for a while-" in a flat tone.

Something about having to hear the flat tone and seeing the under expressive face of your own worlds Iso once more - it made you a bit sad. It pains you to know that in a different world, one that was just like your own, there was a version of him that liked you back and that expressed it. You kept up the neutral expression, simply giving him a small nod.

"I'm fine. He's dead."

[gusty-wind]

Mindy Robinson@AmericanAFMindy

2h·

We have a corrupt, dementia patient for "president" that no one's allowed to question the "election" of that:

• Refuses to close the border to illegals, child sex traffickers, and gang bangers.

• Is actively funding this invasion using our tax money to do it.

• Won't stop inappropriately touching and sniffing children.

• Can't walk up or down stairs.

• Is appearing at political rally's where the general public isn't allowed anywhere near him.

• Can't speak or form a coherent sentence.

• Has a crackhead son he laundered money through.

• Who was installed by a Deep State that got caught censoring private companies to skew an election to his favor.

• Set up election protestors on J6 with federal informants they refuse to prosecute, a pipe bomber they refuse to look for, all while arresting veterans and MAGA grandmas that walked through an open door.

• Was installed with the help of a corrupt FBI that lied about the incriminating laptop being real.

• Is STILL protecting the elite pedophiles on Epstein's list.

• Blew up a pipe line that they bragged about before it happened, while simultaneously bitching to us about the environment.

• Allowed Chinese spy balloons to cross this country multiple times.

• Refuses to prosecute Fauci for the crimes against humanity he committed with Big Pharma.

• Left trillions in military gear and weapons to Islamic terrorists in Afghanistan.

• Whose administration accidentally drone bombed little kids, that no one even got reprimanded for.

• Is desperately trying to start a new world war to distract from everything his controllers have done.

• Is still employing mail-in ballots for a reason that no longer exists, on riggable machines they refuse to address.

• Is constantly pushing for abortion as a "right" when it's not, while actively trying to strip honest Americans of their 2A constitutional rights.

• Keeps lying about how great "Bidenomics" is like we don't have fucking eyes.

• Keeps pushing transgenderism, drag queens, and the sexual butchering of children for profit in the name of wokeness.

• Allows a corrupt FDA to continue to allow poisoned and carcinogenic additives and chemicals throughout our food supply.

• Hired 87,000 IRS agents to nickel and dime tax payers while allowing Congress to inside trade and profit off of bribes from lobbyists, corporations, and PACs.

• Won't stop sending money to be laundered to Ukraine.

• Refuses to help Hawaiians or Ohioans with their (not so natural) disasters.

• and now he's been caught flying around illegals to station all around the country for some kind of replacement or attack...

Am I missing anything?

Is anybody going to stop this crazy train and do something about this insane bullshit?

[shituationist]

I think companies like Google and Microsoft have incentive to embellish and even falsify the results of their machine learning projects, but I do worry that sufficiently capable (we won't say "conscious," because that doesn't matter) AI agents are going to replace human workers in services while "advanced economies" have made their economies dependent on the existence of a service sector with high-paying jobs (on a global scale) buttressing a comfortable middle class existence for the average adult.

This isn't just an AI thing. Professionals in the US and Western Europe advocate more restrictive work visa and credentialing programs in order to protect their salaries. This also goes for unskilled workers, who are afraid of the influx of Latin American labor in the US (especially when bosses can hire these workers under the table and pay them less, while paying no payroll taxes on that labor).

The whole existence of the labor market is increasingly at odds with human needs and the technical horizon of the world economy. Coupling livelihood to wages has also been a monstrous feature of our society, but it is becoming more and more monstrous as the number of jobs which provide a consistently decent standard of living seem to be increasingly the purview of machines.

Theorists like Steven Wolfram seem to think that "computational irreducibility" will keep plenty of jobs around forever, but I don't know. Automation in manufacturing didn't increase the total number of manufacturing jobs in the US and Europe. People didn't go from making the tenth part of the head of a pin to the thousandath part. People who were displaced by automation and offshoring were instead shuffled into the service sector, but as automation hits that sector, where's the next sector for them to go to?

Socialist planned economies struggled with this too, but because of more conscious political objectives, since an employment guarantee (an artefact of the appropriation of capitalist, specifically Fordist, thinking) was part of their social contract, and automation would reduce the number of jobs or otherwise make workers redundant (but you couldn't just fire them, especially since things like housing were often tied to jobs), so there was a conservative impulse outside of the military production sector to keep jobs labor intensive. Political ossification and the gerontocracy ensured that people with no adequate knowledge of on-the-ground conditions would be able to reach a ministerial position and make the Soviet state unable to undertake needed reforms (so they ended up privatizing everything and sending millions to an early grave with the liquidation of the planned economy instead). Glushkov's OGAS project is a testament to this: early digitalization of the planned economy was killed because ministers didn't want to hand over any control to a computer network, even if that computer network would have breathed new life into the planned economy or made it more competitive with its imperialist rivals (bear in mind here that many ex-Soviet ministers would go on to become oligarchs after privatization was pursued).

I don't know. I'm a little scared and therefore motivated to be skeptical of recent advances in artificial intelligence. "Artificial General Intelligence" has seemingly been redefined from "scary superintelligence that's gonna became conscious and kill us all" to "computer program that can complete any task that a human can do", which is a more realistic goal and arguably feasible from a materialist vantage point (even if not commercially profitable). It isn't there yet, and there's reasons to think the current approach could hit a wall, but even without breaching that kind of "intelligence", the impact of automation in services could mean that service workers are increasingly subject to the precarity that American manufacturing workers have been and which such bromides as "learn to code" have been intended to address.

Every day I am more convinced that our choice is between socialism or barbarism: a global planned economy in which our basic and social needs are addressed through collective, non-commercial, association(s), in which opportunities to make our lives meaningful through work have become "life's prime want"; or a capitalist world-system which mericlessly throws people into the industrial reserve army of labor, making people's lives subject to impersonal forces completely and totally beyond their control, preserving the class structure at all costs and bribing the remnants of the labor aristocracy and bureaucracy with patronage while potentially billions suffer. Worst case scenario is we only get the former through the latter.

(I would appreciate it if you have anything to say about this post, don't do it through a reblog but through a reply or DM, just for my anxiety's sake 🥺)

[theconstitutionisgayculture]

What is the best way, in your opinion, that we could invest the billions of dollars spent on things like Ukraine and illegal immigrants into American communities? What do you think should be prioritized financially in a country? Do you think our defense budget is not enough, excessive, or just right? I am curious to hear your thoughts.

Finishing the border wall, for one. Hiring more border patrol agents to patrol the wall when it's finished. Maybe overhauling our infrastructure since we keep getting told that without taxes our roads would disappear. Other than that, the money could go towards paying off a fraction of our national debt, perhaps. Or it could be used to offset some much needed tax cuts.

Basically anything instead of being shipped off to a black hole of unaccountability.

As for defense spending, I don't know enough about what's being spent right now to comment. But protecting our borders is one of the few legit responsibilities the federal government has, so I'm generally not against defense spending provided it's actually being spent on, you know, defense and not dumbass diversity programs.

[massivechildtidalwave]

things heard in my freshman year OF MARCHING BAND

I feel like a sassage 

Shame is powerful, if something isn’t listening to you shame them.

Today we are talking about who has the best shakes and if you say Zach after a bad rep your cut

“You can get anything at Buckys” “you can’t get Coc-“ 

“Everybody cLap your hands!” “Clap his cheeks”.  ….”sorry what.”

“I’m a fetus!”

“Come on everyone were doing foundations outside. If we all gather into the dry spot we can do it!”

“The IRS has hired 80 new agents, everyone let’s not pay our taxes! Make them do their jobs”

“Wanna see his toe pics” “shows a colorgaurd rifle.”

“Yeah! You bumped me during lunch! Your hair touched me! YEAH!”- homecoming court”

“God forgive me for the jokes I have made they weren’t good”

“The only thing I throw is throw down” “the only thing I throw is when I throw my life away” 

“You already have a hole so let’s just make it bigger” throws Someone on the ground after seeing a small hole in their uniform.

“ I hate it but my brother is getting married” 

“I don’t hate that he’s getting married I just hate that he isn’t going to be here”

“They installed a stereo in my head”

“Pick them up! if a tuba smashes a low g it’s going to die”

“No! We are not “All in this together” we are playing symbols!”

“The keys are made of wood, so they can break easily. That’s why we need to wrap them- “as easy as the resonators disconnect?”

“We don’t want to see Pinocchio in there!”

“If lying would cause your #### to get bigger like Pinocchio’s nose” 

“ I would lie all the time-“ “No honey I didn’t sleep with the neighbor”

“We’ll wait for the hallways to clear out… and for Jacob to stop kissing his girlfriend in the Hallway

“(Our school names) front ensemble featuring the winds!”

“Where’s Jeniah Jean, the real loud voice of the southeast “

“One day this movie will be studied, shrek was a cultural reset”

“I am waiting to yell at someone. If an adult does something At universal, I’m screaming at them. Hey sir there are teenagers! I don’t like how you are looking at those girls sir.”

“What you think you are, a dollar store Chris brown”

“ can we just forfeit” “everyone get sick at the same time”

“Band is a cult” 

“You were watching porn on the bus!”

“You were showing pornhub on your screen”

“Shes the person who would be like “is this chloroform?”

“ they wouldn’t know how to spell drum if it was in their birth certificate”

“She’s five four with shoes on, has four ear precings, is dating Trey’s brother.” “Wait what” 

“Could be a white superemist”

“ could you not I got hit by a golf club when I was a child.”

“ suck my right nut and make my left nut jealous.” 

“If your gay and you know it clap your hands!”

“One time it was raining so hard people got out their shampoo and conditioner and took showers in the rain. I was one of those people so..”

“He said ‘you live in the Arby’s dumpster’l

“We should start adding slay bells to pep tunes.”

“No you don’t want to give that to her, she had an eating disorder that makes her eat inanimate objects. She’d eat the lid” the girl-“and the plume and the box and this hat” “that’s a lot of violence”

“My (short study period nicknamed free the school mascot for freshman) class is super racist” “this class isn’t much better.”

“The donuts are there if you want to sample them at your own risk”

The door is closed “this calls for skipping”

“ I don’t see Seth. You know that may be because of he’s height… sorry that joke just wrote itself”

“If you were wearing a Nike shirt we would be asking when are you going to just do it right”