#BUDGET POLICY

[budgetpolicysrilanka]

𝐒𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝟒𝟕% on your 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 (OSHC) with 𝐁𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲. Enjoy comprehensive coverage without breaking the bank. Choose smart, save more!

[robot-roadtrip-rants]

my feed is full of blueberry fuckers and i aim to please

[very-lost-hobbit]

"US proxy war in Ukraine" Beating u with lead pipes

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[the-busy-ghost]

Weekly DIY Politics

Are you a resident of Scotland?

Do you live in a Labour constituency (bonus points if it's one they recently gained from the SNP)?

Do you oppose the two-child benefit cap?

Have you contacted your MP to express your disappointment over Labour's current actions (or lack of action) in this area?

Consider doing so now!

[look-at-the-stars-tonight]

Called my aunt to wish her a happy birthday and we spent an hour discussing what I was doing with my life 😭

[thefact0rygirl]

My villain origin story is the 'Super Bowl increases sex trafficking' myth.

[sparklecryptid]

ace would make a good king but he'd be So Fed Up the entire time. and he's good at politics in royal bastard au canon!!!!!

Noctis keeps trying to toss the crown and related responsibilities at Ace who keeps dodging like the fucker he is.

"JUST TAKE IT ALREADY!" Noctis hollers and he tries to pin Ace down and shove the responsibilities of being Crown Prince and The Future King onto Ace.

He fails because Ace grew up with Ardyn and Ardyn's training involved rotten fruit being thrown at Ace who wasn't allowed to use magic to dodge.

"Maybe if you catch me," Ace says as he steps around Noctis and lightly breaks a potion on him because Noctis just warped into a wall, "Until then I don't think so."

("You're better at this than I am," Noctis grouches as he slips deeper into Ace's couch, "Why don't you take it? You'd be better than I am!"

"I'm only better because I have experience, you'll get where I am and outpace me soon enough."

"Yeah? And who gave you the experience of managing state affairs?"

Ace pauses.

Noctis' face takes on a look of horror.

"I could get Ardyn to come and teach you like he did me-"

"NO THANK YOU I'M GOOD.")

[beldaroot]

mind you minnesota's uncommitted goal was 5000 votes and we ended up with 45000 votes and sending 11 delegates to the DNC :)

[biphbia]

having different opinions on this site is like a crime

[floraleevee]

The international carnivorous plant society is having their meeting in Austria this year and I want to go so bad 🥲 I’ve been wanting to do a solo euro trip for years and this would coincide with my main interest. It could also be a great way to network with botany/ecology professors in Europe since I’ve all but decided that, should I do a phd, it’ll be in a program abroad.

But on the other hand, I dislike a large portion of the carnivorous plant community that’s super active on social media. At least, those here in the u.s. I don’t want it to just be a bunch of assholes who promote unsustainable practices (if I read someone say “seed grown is ALWAYS better than tissue culture” one more time, the muscles holding my eyeballs in place might rip from how hard I’m rolling them) and have price gouged the market the past 4 years. I want it to be an academic conference, but I’m worried it won’t be that.

Also. Money. I’m hoping to move into a new position by then that’ll pay better, but spending that much money on a holiday seems so irresponsible.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Canada will extend a $2.4 billion loan to Ukraine this year to help prop up the embattled country's finances.

The measure is contained in the latest federal budget, tabled in Parliament on Tuesday by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. It builds on Canada's previous fiscal supports for Ukraine, intended to offset the economic devastation wrought by Russia's full invasion of the eastern European country last year.

The budget earmarks $200 million for military equipment and donations. Federal officials acknowledge that most of that money has been spent already; the sum includes the recent donation of heavy tanks. The measure is being backdated on the government's books to the current fiscal year, which ends on March 31.

The Liberal government also has set aside $605.8 million over five years to replenish the Canadian military's stocks of ammunition and explosives — stocks that were drawn down heavily to supply Ukraine. The new budget offers the first clear indication of how deeply in dollar terms the federal government has dug into its existing store of shells and munitions to support Ukraine's defence. [...]

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

[swashbucklery]

Trying to quell the existential dread re: [local election] results tonight so if anyone wants to send me prompts/knock knock jokes/vampire taylor conspiracy theories/really cool emo songs from 2004 this is a GREAT NIGHT to do so.

[thelinkfactory]

European governments shrinking railways in favour of road-building, report finds

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

By Prem Thakker

States across the country are moving to provide universal free school meals to all our children. Meanwhile, Republicans are trying to stop them from doing just that.

The Republican Study Committee (of which some three-quarters of House Republicans are members) on Wednesday released its desired 2024 budget, in which the party boldly declares its priority to eliminate the Community Eligibility Provision, or CEP, from the School Lunch Program. Why? Because “CEP allows certain schools to provide free school lunches regardless of the individual eligibility of each student.”

The horror.

Of note is that the CEP is not even something every school participates in; it is a meal service program reserved for qualifying schools and districts in low-income areas. The program enables schools that predominantly serve children from low-income backgrounds to offer all students free breakfast and lunch, instead of means-testing them and having to manage collecting applications on an individual basis. As with many universal-oriented programs, it is more practically efficient and, as a bonus, lifts all boats. This is what Republicans are looking to eliminate.

It’s the kind of provision that many would want every school to participate in. Why not guarantee all our children are well fed as they learn and think about our world and their place in it, after all?

But indeed, as California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, and as of this week, Vermont, all move to provide universal free school meals in one form or another—and at least another 21 states consider similar moves—Republicans are trying to whittle down avenues to accomplish that goal.

Along with trying to stop schools from giving all their students free meals, the proposed 2024 Republican budget includes efforts to:

• cut Social Security and Medicare • make Trump’s tax cuts for the top 1% permanent • impose work requirements on “all federal benefit programs,” like food stamps and Medicare • extend work requirements on those aged 55–64 • bring back all of twice-impeached and twice-arrested former President Donald Trump’s deregulations, including the weakening of environmental protection.

And that’s just a taste of their hopes and dreams. But don’t mistake it all as just wish-casting: “The RSC Budget is more than just a financial statement. It is a statement of priorities,” the party assures in the document.

[knockabout-pigeon]

ok obviously everyone is entitled to their own opinions about ao3 and they are not some perfect model non profit but can you all please learn how non-profits work and how much running a website costs before you spam the same comment on every damn discourse post