Patterico's Pontifications

2/24/2019

Patterico at PJ Media: Some Good Old-Fashioned L.A. Times Bashing

Filed under: General,Patterico at PJ Media — Patterico @ 12:09 pm



My column in PJ Media this week goes back to the well, with some traditional bashing of our local paper. The title of the piece: L.A. Times: You Should Feel Sad that You Made a Smaller Interest-Free Loan to the Feds Last Year:

In a typical example of leftist media bias, the Los Angeles Times has an article titled “Shrinking tax refunds are a growing problem for GOP tax law.” Uh-oh! Are people actually paying more in taxes under the new law?!

. . . .

What about the vast majority of Americans? Are they paying more in taxes? The answer is buried in an offhand remark contained in the ninth paragraph of the article … Finding meaningful nuggets of truth in this article is like spotting snow leopards in the wild: if you know exactly where to look and you squint really hard, you might catch a glimpse of one. Yes, there it was: “actual taxes paid … for most people are lower under the new law.” (Republicans say.) So it really is just a question of lower taxes and lower tax refunds — in other words, good news and even better news.

. . . .

Nowhere does the article explain that receiving more money in your paycheck every week, rather than giving interest-free loans to the federal government, is a good thing — meaning that these people who are unhappy over their smaller refunds are simply (and I say this with the greatest respect) morons. The closest the article comes is to quote a Sacramento-based writer as saying: “‘It’s an interest-free loan to the government, but you never have to lose sleep at night’ worrying about a big tax bill.” Even the notion of free loans to the government is spun as a boon to taxpayers, allowing California novelists to sleep well at night knowing that they have allowed the federal government to use some of their money for free.

In the end, the article is nothing more than a way to reinforce Democrat talking points…

Enjoy.

103 Responses to “Patterico at PJ Media: Some Good Old-Fashioned L.A. Times Bashing”

  1. Ding.

    Patterico (115b1f)

  2. “Shrinking tax refunds are a growing problem for GOP tax law.”

    I predicted that when the law was passed. Andespecially after the IRS adjusted withholding.

    Uh-oh! Are people actually paying more in taxes under the new law?!

    How many people know that?

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  3. Getting back to your roots, P. I love how this whole “the GOP is going to be in trouble when people’s refunds are less this year than last” argument depends entirely upon the idea that people are too stupid to compare this year’s tax return to last year’s to see what their overall federal tax burden in fact was. But that is sort of how progressives see us normal everyday yokels, isn’t it?

    JVW (54fd0b)

  4. How many people here have your property tax obligation folded into your monthly mortgage payment? I have always deliberately kept them apart, in small part because I don’t want to give the county an interest-free loan throughout the year, but mostly because I want to feel the pain of a biannual tax payment that increases each and every year, so that when I go into the voting booth to decide upon a tax levy or a local bond issue I have a an exact idea of what it is going to cost me.

    JVW (54fd0b)

  5. There was a commenter in here trying to push the same meme a few days ago.

    harkin (1d6d78)

  6. Excellent column, sir. Thank you.

    felipe (023cc9)

  7. JVW (54fd0b) — 2/24/2019 @ 12:57 pm

    My older brother ( on advice from dad) did just that when he was a newlywed and not very well disciplined in financial matters. It saved him from himself.

    felipe (023cc9)

  8. No offense to Happyfeet, but I noticed the return (coincidence?) of several old commenters. I won’t name them, but welcome back! I missed you guys.

    felipe (023cc9)

  9. Well, I am off to Worship my creator. Be assured of my prayers for all of you while I am there.

    felipe (023cc9)

  10. My older brother ( on advice from dad) did just that when he was a newlywed and not very well disciplined in financial matters. It saved him from himself.

    I suppose there are people who should pay both mortgage and 1/12 of property tax on a monthly basis just for that reason, just as I suppose there are people who benefit from getting a sizable refund every spring. But it’s just sad when people don’t realize how that all works (looking at you, Senator Harris). We’re a nation of financial illiterates.

    JVW (54fd0b)

  11. 4. A lot less people, particularly those marginal buyers empowered during the mid-00s real bubble estate, had the ability to eschew the escrow requirement – this tended to be a non negotiable requirement when people were putting down single digit down payments. Thus there is less chance of starving the county and township until the absolute due date.

    That said, I have always prided myself on avoiding the budget installment plans offered by our natural gas heat and electric power entities hear. I’d rather feel the pain of a $300 + in February and the pleasure next to nothing in August for gas than the constant fee for 12 months.

    urbanleftbehind (f2fd8b)

  12. I get so tired of the Left trying to weaponize everything. I wonder how they function after moving from outrage to outrage 24/7.

    Simon Jester (2a02d5)

  13. The LAT is consistent at least. You can’t trust the LAT but you can trust the LAT to be the LAT.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  14. Btw hiltzik is on the war path against John Wayne re that interview in 1971?

    Narciso (99ab86)

  15. Nowhere does the article explain that receiving more money in your paycheck every week, rather than giving interest-free loans to the federal government, is a good thing — meaning that these people who are unhappy over their smaller refunds are simply (and I say this with the greatest respect) morons.

    In reading the entire article, it’s quite clear to see that the LAT, and by extension, Democrats are appealing to the emotions of readers, rather than providing instructive facts about how taxes/refunds work. Because ignorance is the key to the Democrats achieving their big spending goals.

    It’s always amusing to see people actually believe that the government can do a better job investing their hard-earned money rather than themselves. Sort of unbelievable.

    Dana (023079)

  16. Simon- one would think it would be exhausting. Every single hour of everyday week after week.

    mg (8cbc69)

  17. In reading the entire article, it’s quite clear to see that the LAT, and by extension, Democrats are appealing to the emotions of readers, rather than providing instructive facts about how taxes/refunds work. Because ignorance is the key to the Democrats achieving their big spending goals.

    https://twitter.com/speakerryan/status/928336900724805632

    Davethulhu (e458f4)

  18. Davethulhu @17, would love to read Cindy’s story. But the link goes to Nancy Pelosi and “Page not found”.

    So, you were reinforcing Dana’s point, right?

    Munroe (4bb992)

  19. He posted that tweet when he was still speaker. The point, of course, is that the primary author of the tax cut was pushing bigger tax refunds.

    Davethulhu (e458f4)

  20. For the first time in history, a bill came out a bit differently in the final version than had initially be drafted.

    If the GOP Congress wanted refunds to be bigger — i.e., they wanted us to loan even more money interest-free to the government — and the Trump Administration or the IRS or someone else said, “Hell no, we’re going to cut back on withholding,” then I think that’s a net win for all of us.

    JVW (54fd0b)

  21. There is a limited community that taxes did increase, some significantly. If you pay a high amount in state, local, and property taxes, the capping of the deduction could leave you with a much higher tax bill. This wasn’t a secret though, you just had to plan for it. Our last house in DFW, Dallas county, had a bit over $20k a year in property taxes, and the new owners were probably reassessed for over $30k. Of course, no income taxes for the state, but toll roads everywhere, so it’s a trade-off, and you may get hit with a capped deduction.

    We moved to Northern Kentucky when I got closer to retirement, downsized the house a bit, lower property taxes, still close to a city, but much better traffic. If you live in NY/NJ/CT/CA plus a few other cities where the SLP taxes are high, with very high real estate prices, you have to factor all of that in.

    Colonel Klink (Ret) (6e7a1c)

  22. 10. We are indeed a nation of financial illiterates and the US Federal Government trades on that illiteracy. As they purposely screw us out of our earning power with inflationary policy, they know we’ll complain until the government can White Knight its way to our rescue with higher minimum wages, which anyone with more than two brain cells to rub together knows, helps NO ONE.

    Gryph (08c844)

  23. mg #16: it makes me exhausted to read the constant fury. The obsessive search for insult. It’s…Puritan in its nature, ironically. And it makes many people in academia (and most do NOT agree with all the silliness) just hide or say nothing rather than fight with the small loud minority. Because to do so is to be labeled, as I know very well from personal experience.

    You know the bit from Glenn Reynolds: “That’s different because shut up.” I experience this daily on campus. And again, it is NOT most academics. It’s a few who wield the power of the “wokescolds” (a lovely and accurate term):

    https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/life-among-the-wokescolds/

    Seriously, I have seen conversations just like this with some frequency.

    I think that Lukianoff and Haidt, in their book “The Coddling of the American Mind,” have a good handle on the problem and its source in higher education. These are the three thought patterns that, in their opinion and in mind, have brought us here:

    1. What doesn’t kill you makes you weaker.
    2. Always trust your feelings.
    3. Life is a battle between good people and evil people.

    We see echoes or excellent examples of all this every day. The convenient labeling of others to dismiss their points of view. The catastrophizing (is that a word?) of seemingly every tiny insult. And, of course, the attempts to address every possible infirmity, physical, psychological, or sociological, in every person.

    I know that Patterico is reading or has read the Haidt and Lukianoff book. As an academic, it sure does ring true to me. And we see, again, echoes of these counterproductive strategies across the board. I think social media and the “press” have a lot to do with this “outrage of the nanosecond” culture.

    After all, have we heard from Christine Blasey Ford recently? She had a purpose in the larger uber narrative, and the Outrage Brigade moved on.

    Sure, lots of people just sneer at academia. But I promise you, most academics aren’t like this. So we had better come up with a solution. And soon.

    Anyway, sorry for the rant.

    Simon Jester (2a02d5)

  24. well said. What’s missing from today’s liberalism is any the “peace and love” of the 60s. little grace, charity, or empathy for those who differ ideologically. To be fair it’s not much better on the right. “Life is a battle between good people and evil people.” is a common sentiment in the comment sections of both Mother Jones and, say, Red State. It’s what happens when actual religion gets replaced by or conflated with hyperpartisan politics.

    JRH (fe281f)

  25. 23.

    I promise you, most academics aren’t like this.

    Great, Simon. And most feminists aren’t screeching baby-killing harpies. And most blacks aren’t violent whitey-hating thugs. Etc. Let’s get that all out of the way and stipulate that.

    It’s the academics who wish to harm me who have the power. Whether they are a majority of the figures in academia does not matter. It is their policies that Alexandra Occasional-Cortex is pushing.

    Think about this: 545 individuals in FedGov exercise a tyranny in a nation of over 320,000,000 individuals. Ask yourself how this is possible, and then you’ll understand that you don’t need a majority for a tyranny.

    Gryph (08c844)

  26. mahalo, Simon.

    mg (8cbc69)

  27. By the way, folks, I have better reasons than most to fear academic groupthink and metastasizing PC cray-cray. I’m hopeful that some folks are waking up and speaking out.

    But the point of the Haidt and Lukianoff book is that the current thinking (fueled by social media and our awful press) strategies I outlined are creating more and more of this nonsense.

    Instead of strength.

    Let alone nuance.

    Simon Jester (2a02d5)

  28. That’s some pretty smelly bias by the LAT. The best personal financial management is when you owe no additional taxes nor receive any tax refunds on April 15th. The real measure of whether the Trump tax cuts worked is whether your overall tax liability is less than the prior year. But what would a guy who was a CPA for 15 years know.

    Paul Montagu (0eb929)

  29. 28. I’d rather get a little refund than a large one, but if I have to make a choice between paying less than a hundred dollars in or getting less than a hundred back, I’d rather pay in. That way it’s an interest-free loan to me instead of from me to FedGov.

    Gryph (08c844)

  30. “What’s so funny ‘bout peace, love and understanding?”

    —- Nick Lowe

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  31. Since this is slowing down, here’s some good stuff… https://youtu.be/0wIw1Uz1eq0

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  32. A smart 401 or 457 k pitchman would have known this and made a killing during last fall’s benefits choice circuit.

    urbanleftbehind (d333d8)

  33. OT, except for how the DOD can spend your April 15 sacrifice…

    You can get on that plane or boat, Marco. Narciso, maybe me and Felipe in a good mood, can join you.

    http://www.yahoo.com/news/venezuela-marco-rubio-posts-image-232051956.html

    urbanleftbehind (d333d8)

  34. I would have been a little subtler with Noriega, but that’s really the fate of Cabello the head of the sun cartel.

    Narciso (ad3ae7)

  35. Paul Montagu (0eb929) — 2/24/2019 @ 4:54 pm

    By that measure, the new tax code means little or no change for me. I can’t make an apples to apples comparison because of a different job I started mid year last year, a pension I started last year, RMD from the IRA I inherited from my mother, etc, but I seem to be paying the same rate as before, and the payment I will be mailing to the IRS on April 5th or so is slightly higher than the last few years but not by much (about $150 compared to the $50-$100 of previous years).

    Kishnevi (fe0b52)

  36. Good post, Patterico. Even the comments over at PJMedia were decent.

    Fack o’ the matter, though, is that there are a lot of people who think their tax refund is a gift from Government Santa. Combine them with those who think that cow farts cause global warming, and those who believe that so-called “rough sex” can be a necessary and fulfilling adjunct to someone’s sex life, and the LAT will have enough of readership base to keep it solvent for one more year.

    nk (dbc370)

  37. Timely, Simon… this progressive propaganda has been going on for a long time…

    http://tennesseestar.com/2019/02/21/commentary-radically-transforming-the-nation-our-politicized-schools-of-education/

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  38. Sadly true, Colonel.

    Nk, I love the whole video.

    https://view.yahoo.com/show/saturday-night-live/clip/4969474/nancy-pelosi

    Simon Jester (2a02d5)

  39. Or maybe is more? Is big capitalist tax refund industry that flood all media at beginning of year with consumerist advertising of how to get tax refund money early and what to spend it on? Is at PJMedia comments I think where someone say that Amazon will give you Amazon voucher at 5% more over amount of your refund if you use refund to buy Amazon voucher to shop at Amazon. For people who shop a lot at Amazon is like Trump tax plan took 5% out of their Amazon wallet.

    nk (dbc370)

  40. Thank you, Simon. I couldn’t find the whole thing.

    nk (dbc370)

  41. Even more than propping up the aggregate demand consumer economy, also the viability of strip malls as expressed in through HR Block, Jackson Hewitt and Libertu tax service remaining the chalk tenant (this is endangered more by the greatee simplicity of new new 1040 than the $ amount of the refund).

    urbanleftbehind (d333d8)

  42. Narciso, maybe me and Felipe in a good mood, can join you. urbanleftbehind (d333d8) — 2/24/2019 @ 5:38 pm

    LOL. I’ll go, I could learn a lot from you guys.

    felipe (023cc9)

  43. The simplicity of the new 1040 can be deceiving. Some stuff was permanently deleted, but a lot of the lines appearing on the old form still live on, banished to the schedules and auxiliary forms. And it’s not always easy to figure out if you need to file one of those extra forms.

    More dangerous to HR Block is the simplest change of all, the end of the personal exemptions and the increase in the atandard deduction. For a lot of people itemized deductions are a thing of the past.

    Kishnevi (fe0b52)

  44. Well if everyone’s favorite niece has her way you can look forward to raising the rates and permanently losing the deduction.

    Ryan’s dr. Strange pocus cadadra deserves note.

    Narciso (ad3ae7)

  45. She’s no niece of mine, my family does not do sex tourism; and if her ilk has their way, your employer will pay your entire wages to the government which will then deduct all taxes and put the remainder on your Electronic Benefits Transfer Card.

    nk (dbc370)

  46. nk (dbc370) — 2/24/2019 @ 6:50 pm

    Ouch! That’s bleek – I think you you may have just accurately predicted the future. Lord have mercy on our great grandchildren.

    felipe (023cc9)

  47. EBT cards will not even be needed. Did you see that fortune teller movie with Tom Cruise, Minority Report, where the machines recognize him from his retinal patterns (?) as he walks through the mall?

    Now, Philip K. Dick, was a certified lunatic, but what was it that drove him insane? Hmm?

    nk (dbc370)

  48. From the other side, it seems the FCC got a bunch of complaints about Adam Levine’s performance at the Super Bowl, grounded on the idea that if Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction deserved a fine, Levine’s nipple display should also get fined.

    Kishnevi (fe0b52)

  49. I heard Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper said hold our beer at a certain trophy show tonight.

    urbanleftbehind (d333d8)

  50. My girls are watching it. They always watch it. I asked my daughter, “Are you checking out the hairstyles? She said, “How did you know?” I said, “I’m a people person”.

    nk (dbc370)

  51. 38… that. Is. Funny!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  52. Palomino, appears to be more than a metaphor.

    Narciso (ad3ae7)

  53. I’d thought that Bill Maher could never be a bigger a-hole than he’s been for the last 2 years, but he’s outdone himself: https://www.redstate.com/elizabeth-vaughn/2019/02/24/memo-bill-maher-actually-bill-middle-class-americans-not-want/

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  54. more money in your paycheck every week

    Haha! The paltry amount more I get to keep from my paycheck is almost laughable. Even if you add it up for the whole year it’s not that big, and I’m somewhere in the middle class. So that applies to most middle class people too. So pfffft to that!

    We’re not stupid, you know.

    Tillman (61f3c8)

  55. The Romans had a holiday that was similar to tax refunds. Saturnalia. It lasted for four days in its final version:

    Slaves were treated to a banquet of the kind usually enjoyed by their masters.[5] Ancient sources differ on the circumstances: some suggest that master and slave dined together,[42] while others indicate that the slaves feasted first, or that the masters actually served the food. The practice might have varied over time.[7]

    Saturnalian license also permitted slaves to disrespect their masters without the threat of a punishment. It was a time for free speech: the Augustan poet Horace calls it “December liberty”.[43] In two satires set during the Saturnalia, Horace has a slave offer sharp criticism to his master.[44] Everyone knew, however, that the leveling of the social hierarchy was temporary and had limits; no social norms were ultimately threatened, because the holiday would end.[45]

    nk (dbc370)

  56. Proponents of the new tax law are telling the middle-class to be happy with the $25 increase in their paychecks and to not think too hard about anything else. Somehow, we don’t think that’s going to work.

    Tillman (61f3c8)

  57. But we couldn’t afford the tax cut in the first place because of our debt. It’s twenty-two TRILLION and counting. Tick tick tick….

    The rich are partying like there’s no tomorrow, while the middle-class gets thrown a couple of scraps and told they’d better appreciate it.

    Tillman (61f3c8)

  58. It’s a cold-hearted and uncaring world, Mr. Tillman.

    nk (dbc370)

  59. The problem is not that Americans are not taxed enough. The problem is that the parasites in government are spending too much.

    For one very small example, Chiquita Bananas announced that the starting salary for her staff is $52K because she believes in a living wage. Whose money is she paying that living wage with? I don’t think it’s hers.

    nk (dbc370)

  60. Looks like some people here have discovered the amazing paradox that those who aren’t paying a whole lot of federal tax to begin with aren’t going to receive a particularly large federal tax cut. It’s almost as if there were logic and mathematics involved.

    JVW (54fd0b)

  61. “Looks like some people here have discovered the amazing paradox that those who aren’t paying a whole lot of federal tax to begin with aren’t going to receive a particularly large federal tax cut.”

    Just like those who say women are only paid 83% compared to men and squeal about an epidemic of cops shooting blacks while ignoring actual numbers, you must suspend knowledge of math to be indoctrinated.

    At least we have state lotteries, which some call a tax on the poor but in reality are taxes on people with poor math skills.

    harkin (1d6d78)

  62. Back in the early days of the Obama administration, the stimulus package included a tax rebate. Rather than hand it out as a single check, the Obama administration deliberately chose to handle it via a small reduction in withholdings, the theory being that a small increase in every paycheck would just get spent (thereby providing a stimulus) while a large check would be used to pay down debt or increase savings (which wouldn’t produce a stimulus). But the small increase in every paycheck also didn’t get noticed and this contributed to a sense that the stimulus hadn’t done anything for people *even though they were getting money back that otherwise they wouldn’t have*.

    It’s really funny to see the same psychological effect at play here.

    aphrael (33dc58)

  63. Because they spent the bulk of the money on boondoggles like solyndra:

    https://freebeacon.com/politics/former-obama-dhs-secretary-im-not-in-favor-of-seeing-less-fencing-than-there-is-now/

    Narciso (9b5328)

  64. If you can convince Lauren Underwood to rent a 1 bedroom closer to the city, you can make Bobby Rush disappear.

    And I can think of one particularly noble use of a plastic bag should I ever travel to Springfield.

    urbanleftbehind (5eecdb)

  65. 62. The problem has gone beyond government spending. When the government has no money left to spend, they print more.

    Gryph (08c844)

  66. If you can convince Lauren Underwood to rent a 1 bedroom closer to the city, you can make Bobby Rush disappear.

    A Representative is not required to live in his or her district. Only in their state. See, e.g., Maxine Waters.

    nk (dbc370)

  67. NK, at 71: while that’s true, many of us generally consider out of district representatives to be problematic.

    aphrael (33dc58)

  68. while a large check would be used to pay down debt or increase savings (which wouldn’t produce a stimulus).

    I disagree that paying down debt would not produce a stimulus. If you pay down debt in Month 0, you have more disposable income in Months 1-N, because less income is needed to service debt. More disposable income means more money to spend or invest.

    It’s the exact same logic as lowering the withholding amounts.

    Chuck Bartowski (bc1c71)

  69. > I disagree that paying down debt would not produce a stimulus. If you pay down debt in Month 0, you have more disposable income in Months 1-N

    it would not spend money *today* in a way that would increase economic activity *today*. if the goal is to increase economic activity *today*, then something which will increase economic activity tomorrow isn’t well targeted to that goal, even if increasing economic activity tomorrow is also a good idea.

    aphrael (33dc58)

  70. it would not spend money *today* in a way that would increase economic activity *today*.

    The point to a stimulus is economic activity in the near term. Having more disposable income next month qualifies as the near term. We’re talking a matter of 30 days, not 30 months.

    Chuck Bartowski (bc1c71)

  71. True, but a a stimulus doesn’t work show quickly https://www.dailycaller.com/2019/02/24/misinformation-tech-democrats/

    Narciso (9b5328)

  72. I lived in Amsterdam for a short time, during which I learned to live without plastic bags. If people acquire a plastic bag there they re-use it until it’s not useable. It was annoying, but I adjusted and came to appreciate the ethos of only using what you need. Here back in the states, my house is overflowing with plastic bags. So many plastic bags. I end up throwing them out. I go to the supermarket and see plastic bags overflowing out of the trash bins. Nothing wrong with a tax on plastic bags imo. Conservatives are so afraid of taxes they have forgotten — if they ever knew — how to pay for anything.

    JRH (fe281f)

  73. Even when mask is off people refuse to recognize fascist socialism masquerading as environmentalism. Is Governor Pudgeker want money, not want protect environment. He make very sad when people don’t buy plastic bag and he not get plastic bag tax I bet you. Then he look for something else to tax.

    nk (dbc370)

  74. Readers of this blog may get a kick out of Judge Reinhardt’s lasst stand:

    his final opinion, authored before he died but announced eleven days after his death, in a case which had a majority if his vote was counted but which was a 5-5 deadlock if his was not, has been overturned in a per curiam opinion. It starts on page 13 of https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/022519zor_8mjp.pdf:

    > Because Judge Reinhardt was no longer a judge at the time when the en banc decision in this case was filed, theNinth Circuit erred in counting him as a member of themajority. That practice effectively allowed a deceased judge to exercise the judicial power of the United States after his death. But federal judges are appointed for life, not for eternity.

    aphrael (33dc58)

  75. 78. haha I hear you. I know there is corruption and people lining their pockets. But we also have to pay for stuff. We are awash in plastic bags. Why not kill 3 birds with one stone. Reduce waste, get lazy people (like myself) to consider re-use and conserve resources, generate revenue.

    JRH (fe281f)

  76. Heh! Any odds on Kagan drafting that Per Curiam, aphrael? I would have said Scalia, before.

    nk (dbc370)

  77. Well what about that increased risk of infections and illness from poorly washed re-used canvas bags? That was a worry from back in the earlier 20-teens. Courtesy of the crash test nation of Green this and that:

    http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/turns-out-using-a-reusable-shopping-bag-could-be-making-you-sick/news-story/e994b4ca811a0c9af4c9948c50b37a26

    urbanleftbehind (5eecdb)

  78. “Conservatives are so afraid of taxes they have forgotten — if they ever knew — how to pay for anything.”

    Speaking of paying for anything, did you ever pay for the old bumpin’ uglies when you lived in Hamsterdam? Enquiring minds wanna know…

    Colonel Haiku (ac91f9)

  79. Yup. My “reusable” plastic shopping bags have a lifetime of maybe five shopping trips and twenty times the plastic of the disposable ones. I do save 18 cents — 17 cents for the “reusable” versus 35 cents for five disposables.

    nk (dbc370)

  80. 74… aphrael… I would gladly pay you next Tuesday for a hamburger today!

    Colonel Haiku (ac91f9)

  81. It’s a hard world to get a break in, all teh good things have been taken, Tillman.

    Colonel Haiku (ac91f9)

  82. But man there are ways to make certain these days
    Though I’m dressed in these rags, I’ll f*ck Mabel someday
    Hear what I say… I’m gonna ride this serpent
    No more time spent sweatin’ rent
    I’m breakin’ loose
    It ain’t no use
    Holdin’ me down

    Colonel Haiku (ac91f9)

  83. Great Link, JRH.

    mg (8cbc69)

  84. It takes a lot of water to make those cotton bags.

    mg (8cbc69)

  85. @85. not familiar with the phrase and not gonna google it. Must be one of them “family values” like they practice near Mar-A-Lago.

    JRH (fe281f)

  86. The old pushn’pull… teh beast with two backs…

    In other news, Cocaine Mitch don’t play that game… https://hotair.com/archives/2019/02/25/sunrise-movement-protesters-visit-mcconnells-office/

    Colonel Haiku (ac91f9)

  87. @93. Col Haiku I don’t discuss personal s*xual practices w/ strangers over the internet you go right on ahead.

    JRH (fe281f)

  88. Good for M the B…if it got real hairy, would Elaine have done one of these?

    urbanleftbehind (d333d8)

  89. 21. Colonel Klink (Ret) (6e7a1c) — 2/24/2019 @ 3:49 pm

    21.There is a limited community that taxes did increase, some significantly. If you pay a high amount in state, local, and property taxes, the capping of the deduction could leave you with a much higher tax bill. This wasn’t a secret though, you just had to plan for it.

    It’s not just that. The majority of people still paid less in taxes, because the standard deduction was greatly increased, which meant it wasn’t worth it to itemize deductions because they woudln’t amount to more than the standard deduction in any case. People also lost many of the itemized deductions where aperson got to dedct the amount over 2% of adjusted gross income – things like union dues, cost of preparing the income tax returns, un-reimbursed business expenses and moving expenses (except for thos in the military.) Another reaon the actual taxes might be lower was that the income tax rate wass slightly less, and if they supported children, the child tax credit doubled, which made up for the loss of the personal exemption.

    But the IRS has always set withholding tables on the assumption that you were not going to itemize deductions. (Maybe leaving a small margin to acount for possible interest income etc.)

    The only way withholding was adjusted was the number of exemptions plus you could add a specific amount not to deduct, and there is a withholding calculator on the IRS website (useful, for instance, for someone who was unemployed or employed at asignificantly lower salary, for some of the current year.)

    What people would do is add additional exemptions to account for the itemized deductions.

    So when the tax law changed, the amount the IRS withheld was too low for people who had formerly itemized deductions..

    But they didn’t greatly advertise that.

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  90. 46. nk (dbc370) — 2/24/2019 @ 6:50 pm

    ; and if her ilk has their way, your employer will pay your entire wages to the government which will then deduct all taxes and put the remainder on your Electronic Benefits Transfer Card.

    No, because taht woudl leave people without a Social Security number out in the cold – it’s the proponents of E-Verify who would want that. We’re also not going cashless that quickly.

    Her ilk actually are proposing laws that businesses be required to accept cash.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/20/business/cashless-payments.html

    Stores and restaurants in several states would be required to do something pretty basic if certain lawmakers have their way: accept their customers’ cash…

    …The New Jersey Legislature and the Philadelphia City Council have passed measures this year that would ban cashless stores. New York City, Washington, San Francisco and Chicago are weighing similar bills.

    “It’s important to recognize the fact that not everyone has access to banks or lines of credit,” said State Senator Nellie Pou, one of the sponsors of the bill in New Jersey….

    https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/when-stores-go-cashless-it-discrimination-n973676

    Philadelphia is the latest community to reject card-only policies, with the City Council passing legislation earlier this month to ban the practice. Mayor Jim Kenney has 30 days to decide whether to sign or veto the legislation, which would require all cashless brick-and-mortar stores to comply by July 1. The New Jersey State Legislature has also passed legislation that would require stores to accept cash, and similar proposals have been discussed in Washington, D.C., and New York City. Massachusetts law requires all stores to accept cash and credit…

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  91. 49. nk (dbc370) — 2/24/2019 @ 7:05 pm

    49.EBT cards will not even be needed. Did you see that fortune teller movie with Tom Cruise, Minority Report, where the machines recognize him from his retinal patterns (?) as he walks through the mall?

    That’s what they’ve got now in India, except that the machines are very nearsighted and they are on;y used when paying for things.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/07/technology/india-id-aadhaar.html

    April 7, 2018..

    Seeking to build an identification system of unprecedented scope, India is scanning the fingerprints, eyes and faces of its 1.3 billion residents and connecting the data to everything from welfare benefits to mobile phones….

    …To Adita Jha, Aadhaar was simply a hassle. The 30-year-old environmental consultant in Delhi waited in line three times to sit in front of a computer that photographed her face, captured her fingerprints and snapped images of her irises. Three times, the data failed to upload. The fourth attempt finally worked, and she has now been added to the 1.1 billion Indians already included in the program….

    ….Ms. Jha had little choice but to keep at it. The government has made registration mandatory for hundreds of public services and many private ones, from taking school exams to opening bank accounts….
    …The poor must scan their fingerprints at the ration shop to get their government allocations of rice. Retirees must do the same to get their pensions. Middle-school students cannot enter the water department’s annual painting contest until they submit their identification.

    In some cities, newborns cannot leave the hospital until their parents sign them up. Even leprosy patients, whose illness damages their fingers and eyes, have been told they must pass fingerprint or iris scans to get their benefits.

    The Modi government has also ordered Indians to link their IDs to their cellphone and bank accounts. States have added their own twists, like using the data to map where people live. Some employers use the ID for background checks on job applicants…

    …The government argues that the universal ID is vital in a country where hundreds of millions of people do not have widely accepted identification documents…

    …Businesses are also using the technology to streamline transactions.

    Banks once sent employees to the homes of account applicants to verify their addresses. Now, accounts can be opened online and finished with a fingerprint scan at a branch or other authorized outlet. Reliance Jio, a telecom provider, relies on an Aadhaar fingerprint scan to conduct the government-mandated ID check for purchases of cellphone SIM cards. That allows clerks to activate service immediately instead of forcing buyers to wait a day or two.

    https://www.npr.org/2018/10/01/652513097/indias-biometric-id-system-has-led-to-starvation-for-some-poor-advocates-say

    An Aadhaar enrollment worker scans applicants’ irises, takes their fingerprints and photos, and assigns them a unique 12-digit number. The biometric data are stored on government servers. Several weeks later, an ID card arrives in the mail…

    …The system is designed to cut fraud — after all, it’s hard to counterfeit your irises.

    But it requires electricity to scan people’s biometrics, and Internet access to check them against government databases. You’ll find those in India’s big cities. In poorer places, you often don’t…

    …At this ration shop, Ashok Kumar, 57, scans people’s fingerprints with something that looks like a credit card machine. It runs on batteries and needs a 3G or 4G cellphone signal.

    But the network is shaky. Kumar walks across the street, lifting his machine up overhead, until he finally gets a signal. He sets up shop instead on the steps of a Hindu temple.

    One by one, he types people’s Aadhaar numbers into the machine and then asks them to place their fingers on a small scanner. The machine checks their numbers against biometric data on government servers and prints out a receipt for food rations — bags of rice.

    But one customer isn’t so lucky. Karu Bhuiya, 48, has done manual labor all his life. His fingertips are worn. Kumar tries to scan them five times, but gets an error message.

    The machine here is rudimentary, and only scans fingerprints — not irises. So Bhuiya is turned away. He goes home without food….

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  92. I’ll take that as a “yes”.

    Colonel Haiku (ac91f9)

  93. 77. JRH (fe281f) — 2/25/2019 @ 8:19 am

    Here back in the states, my house is overflowing with plastic bags. So many plastic bags. I end up throwing them out.

    I doin’t see them overflowing, Plastic bags break. Most can’t be re-used very much, not even Glatt Mart bags. People need them for garbage and some other things. If people had to carry around bags with them it would be like the old Soviet Union in the 1980s. Not everybody has cars. They’d p[ay extra, or take delivery.

    I go to the supermarket and see plastic bags overflowing out of the trash bins.

    What, what? I don’t see any such thing. Why don’t people take the bags home with them?? Is there some kind of a garbage tax?

    And remember also, a non-biodegradable plastic bag is a form of carbon sequestration? Environmentally advantageous. They don’t go into the ocean from American cities.

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  94. Col Haiku: What thread does 99 belomngg in?

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  95. It belomngg’s in Hamsterdam… as often as it can, Sammy!

    Colonel Haiku (ac91f9)

  96. aphrael (33dc58) — 2/25/2019 @ 5:49 am

    Good point – that’s exactly right, Aphrael.

    Tillman (61f3c8)


Powered by WordPress.

Page loaded in: 0.1619 secs.