#fiscal issues

[atlanticsentinel]

Italy Shows Goodwill to EU with Last-Minute Tax Changes

Italy shows goodwill to EU with last-minute tax changes

Bartender in Siena, Italy, August 5, 2020 (Unsplash/Gabriella Clare Marino) Italy’s new right-wing government has backed away from a plan to let shops refuse card payments under €60. The country’s previous government, led by former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi, required companies to accept all card payments in an attempt to fight tax evasion. Businesses that refused were fined €30 per…

[performing-personhood]

I'm sitting here trying to sell off my pint glass collection, old beer shirts, and household items to make a couple hundred extra dollars.

I quit drinking in spring of this year, I told everyone it was because of my new antidepressant but it was also secretly about saving money on beer.

I cancelled all of my patreon pledges.

I've spent less than a hundred bucks on clothes this entire year.

I compulsively add coupons to my grocery store club card.

I limit my snack purchases to x1 $5 box of Little Debbies per grocery trip, and two twelve-racks of the cheapest sodas and seltzers that I can find per month.

I DO smoke cigarettes but I don't smoke at all during the daytime, and I go through maybe two packs per week.

Because I've been unemployed since my complete emotional breakdown in July of 2021 (and then remained unemployed because my widowed isolated father's cascading series of breakdowns in the time hence left me without the Spoons to process and move on from my failed 20-year career) I've gone out of my way to reduce my spending as much as possible to offset the income I'm not bringing in. I've made big changes to my lifestyle in the service of making ends meet.

Meanwhile, in the month of October alone, my (employed, breadwinner, half-pack-a-day smoker) partner spent $375 at various gas stations for beer and tobacco, and has made precisely zero changes to his lifestyle.

As the bill-paying half of the relationship, does anyone wanna tell me how the fuck I'm supposed to have this conversation? Ideally without my partner dissolving into a heap of familial-trauma-based insecurities and self-loathing??

[huckleberr1es]

no because what i dont understand is why people on ao3 intentionally seek out triggers/dark fics/dead dove, knowing full well that they dont like that type of content, just to leave mean comments? like its literally free to mind your business

and ao3 LITERALLY has a system for filtering tags/fics you dont want to see???? why not... utilize it? curate ur experience? i love me a good dark fic/dead dove but i also have my Squicks and u know what i do... i exclude tags in my search

idk i just think some people are addicted to drama and literally just need to mind their business 😭 "oh no this triggered me!!!" filter the fucking tags then and stop engaging in this weirdo form of self harm just to start shit??? and if someone didnt tag their fic properly tell them????? and if they dont listen??? BLOCK/MUTE THEM????? HELLO?

[randomnameless]

"Enregistrez-vous en cliquant là :) "

"Vous ne pouvez pas cliquer parce que vous n'êtes pas enregistrée :)"

Le seul point positive de la dématérialisation des procédures, c'est que je ne vais plus pester contre une personne en particulier, mais contre les abrutis qui se sont dits que mettre en ligne une version beta "mais bénéficiant d'une mise à jour tous les jours :)" d'une plateforme dont l'usage est obligatoire c'était faisable.

Ca fait moins de 8 jours que je suis rentrée, et je veux déjà repartir en vacances :(

[alvallah]

Has anyone with a more right-leaning perspective ever made you reconsider your position on a deeply held belief?

Hm. Idk how exactly to classify Joan Didion but I’d say she’s definitely more conservative than I am. There’s an essay she wrote criticizing the 2nd wave of feminism that I found enlightening. I didn’t exactly agree with all of her points but she had some points about entitlement and using a social movement to achieve personal wish-fulfillment that made me think a little bit more critically about where people should be picking battles and what actual feminism is.

Overall though I don’t really find conservative views wholly convincing and they tend to lack compassion (I value compassion and humility more than I value The Law and traditionalism). I think hearing conservative views keeps me and my own views in check so I don’t lose my head but I tend not to agree with the views themselves. My left-aligned views are a result of over a decade of me reevaluating my own perspectives and opinions. In high-school I was probably more a moderate leaning left. Reading a lot and listening to people who aren’t like me has pulled me further left tbh.

[baladric]

my main question is why does every single thing in my life have to be in a terrifying state of flux all at the same time, independently of each other

[activatingaggro]

And lastly - blorboify kua for me.

[fagmegumi]

sarò reale con te capo sono così 👌🏻 vicino a votare qualche partito comunista splinter del cazzo domani

[aria-i-adagio]

Right... Not collecting payroll taxes on tips, which will further starve Social Security and Medicare in the present, and later down the line reduce the amount tipped workers will qualify for in retirement will definitely benefit the working class.

After all, we can't do anything radical like force the hospitality, restaurant, service sector to pay a living wage which actually compensates employees for their labor, or meaningfully tax the wealthiest to fund UBI, child taxes credits and childcare, public infrastructure to get people to jobs/education/etc efficiently and inexpensively. That would be crazy talk.

Yes, lots of sarcasm in the above.

They're a whole ass party of blatantly asinine grifters, bowing down to their golden cow.

[mariacallous]

 Our Nation has made tremendous progress in advancing the cause of equality for LGBTQI+ Americans, including in the military.  Despite their courage and great sacrifice, thousands of LGBTQI+ service members were forced out of the military because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.  Many of these patriotic Americans were subject to a court-martial.  While my Administration has taken meaningful action to remedy these problems, the impact of that historical injustice remains.  As Commander in Chief, I am committed to maintaining the finest fighting force in the world.  That means making sure that every member of our military feels safe and respected.

     Accordingly, acting pursuant to the grant of authority in Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution of the United States, I, Joseph R. Biden Jr., do hereby grant a full, complete, and unconditional pardon to persons convicted of unaggravated offenses based on consensual, private conduct with persons age 18 and older under former Article 125 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), as previously codified at 10 U.S.C. 925, as well as attempts, conspiracies, and solicitations to commit such acts under Articles 80, 81, and 82, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. 880, 881, 882.  This proclamation applies to convictions during the period from Article 125’s effective date of May 31, 1951, through the December 26, 2013, enactment of section 1707 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 (Public Law 113-66).

     The purpose of this proclamation is to pardon only offenses based on consensual, private conduct between individuals 18 and older that do not involve any aggravating factor, including:  

     (1)  conduct that would violate 10 U.S.C. 893a, prohibiting activities with military recruits or trainees by a person in a position of special trust;      (2)  conduct that was committed with an individual who was coerced or, because of status, might not have felt able to refuse consent;      (3)  conduct on the part of the applicant constituting fraternization under Article 134 of the UCMJ;      (4)  conduct committed with the spouse of another military member; or      (5)  any factors other than those listed above that were identified by the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces in United States v. Marcum as being outside the scope of Lawrence v. Texas as applied in the military context, 60 M.J. 198, 207–08 (2004).

     The Military Departments (Army, Navy, or Air Force), or in the case of the Coast Guard, the Department of Homeland Security, in conjunction with the Department of Justice, shall provide information about and publicize application procedures for certificates of pardon.  An applicant for a certificate of pardon under this proclamation is to submit an application to the Military Department (Army, Navy, or Air Force) that conducted the court-martial or, in the case of a Coast Guard court-martial, to the Department of Homeland Security.  If the relevant Department determines that the applicant satisfies the criteria under this proclamation, following a review of relevant military justice records, the Department shall submit that determination to the Attorney General, acting through the Pardon Attorney, who shall then issue a certificate of pardon along with information on the process to apply for an upgrade of military discharge.  My Administration strongly encourages veterans who receive a certificate of pardon to apply for an upgrade of military discharge.  

     Although the pardon under this proclamation applies only to the convictions described above, there are other LGBTQI+ individuals who served our Nation and were convicted of other crimes because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.  It is the policy of my Administration to expeditiously consider and to make final pardon determinations with respect to such individuals.

     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-sixth day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth.                              JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

[decolonize-the-everything]

Hey if you:

Hate the military (industrial complex)

Are American 🦅 and/or

Are scared about project 2025

Trans/genderqueer 🏳️‍⚧️

Someone who generally cares about people around the planet🇵🇸🇸🇩🇨🇩

I need you to know:

the US Senate has started considering spending $911 billion dollars on the military to erode more human rights.

And the act to do so already passed through one dem-controlled committee.

It passed after anti-trans amendments were added

Links and such below the cut

TLDR: The military hates trans Palestinians and trans Americans and will systematically harm both in 2025 unless someone does something about it so now is a great time to do something about it. We have til about August to convince our reps this is a Bad Move.

The Fiscal Year 2025 NDAA authorizes a topline of $911.8 billion for military and national security programs at the Department of Defense and Department of Energy.

"The United States Senate’s committee report for the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, which provides funding for the U.S. Military, was uploaded onto the Senate Armed Services Committee website Monday night. In it, two anti-transgender “riders” were included through an amendment process with the support of independent Senator Joe Manchin, who caucuses with Democrats, while a third was defeated; many more Democrats then voted to approve the full bill committee report.

[...]The amendments are key parts of Project 2025, a policy document put forward by the Heritage Foundation aimed at radically transforming the United States government. Project 2025 seeks to concentrate power into the hands of the President and implement ultra-conservative policies across various domains, including reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ issues, and more. The initiative has drawn support from over 110 conservative organizations and former Trump officials.

And of course it's the military budget so it's not like trans military members are the only ones being harmed by this and it'd be ignorant of me to suggest it to say the least:

"Israel has the right to defend itself from Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah," Rogers told the Washington Free Beacon. "The FY25 NDAA makes it clear that the U.S. stands with Israel by investing in U.S.-Israel cooperation and joint exercises.

Additionally, the FY25 NDAA fully funds critical missile defense programs, like Iron Dome, Arrow, and David's Sling, that benefit both the U.S. and Israel."

What do I do??

Be calling/emailing your reps. Tell them you will Not vote for them in the upcoming election if they pass the budget as is and that you support any protests against it AND them if they pass it.

ORGANIZING: educate yourself, friends, family, and start figuring out what actions you can take together to make a difference in your area (protests, blocking roads, threaten to flip/withhold your votes as a collective, harassing politicians IRL, signing petitions, spreading the word, [redacted] etc). This one is really up for interpretation and depends on your ability and proximity to do things so...yeah.

protest the budget however you can: irl protests, include it in Palestine protests, starting hashtags, etc

Start prioritizing U.S queer & Palestinian solidarity because the military and it's committees are happy to make no distinction at all between who's giving the order, a Democrat or a Republicans. And if it doesn't matter to them who's calling the genocide shots then it shouldn't matter to you, especially when the order is to lim it your human rights.

Learn about pinkwashing in regards to solidarity because, "The most painful thing is to see LGBTQ people, who have personally experienced exclusion and discrimination, then inflict the same violence on others. It’s sad that the state has succeeded in making many think that integrating into the Zionist enterprise is the way to integrate into society."

Call the news. I'm serious. Tell them how you heard about a bunch of people talking about Kamala must hate trans people cuz she's letting the NDAA pass with anti-trans ammendments, express concern 'as a voter' that this will cost her the election.

Pressure cook these politicians about the NDAA budget!!!! Do whatever you have to for them to take you seriously

What do I say?

End all U.S support for the occupier state known as Israel

I demand the NDAA budgets to be decreased by $300 billion, it would still be 2x the budgets of the next top military spender.

And I demand the funds be redistributed to human rights initiatives such as trans healthcare

Someone on here said the people accepting these calls just do tallies, they aren't taking the names and number of everyone who calls: so call back to back.

The NDAA isn't usually signed until after August so this gives us plenty of time to spread the word.

Because it's absurd to have a military budget this big when we have foster kids starving on the street and mentally ill vets keeping them company.

If anyone has other suggestions please add them

[ephemeral-winter]

once again i find myself resenting the fact that in order to be an informed citizen i must learn what a “debt ceiling” is

[bronva]

US To Issue 64,716 H-2B Visas For Unskilled Workers In 2023 Fiscal Year

US To Issue 64,716 H-2B Visas For Unskilled Workers In 2023 Fiscal Year

For the first time, the US has temporarily made available 64,716 additional H-2B visas meant for unskilled foreign workers for the fiscal year 2023 to ensure that American businesses can plan for…

[darcylindbergh]

I've talked a lot about why you should vote AGAINST Trump. No fucking shit, right? But I want to vote FOR something, too.

Kamala Harris hasn't had time yet to put together her platform documents, though no doubt we'll see those in the coming days. But this is a good analysis of where she and Joe Biden stand - and Kamala is more progressive on every front.

Abortion rights: Joe would've restored Roe, but Kamala would expand it to prevent states from limiting access. The pre-clearance measure discussed here is a non-starter but I'd expect Kamala to be looking at how to frame the issue for another try.

Israel and Gaza: it's true that Kamala hasn't broken with Joe publicly about Gaza. However, the article goes on:

Harris hasn’t exactly broken with Biden over the issue. But she has expressed more public sympathy than Biden has over the tens of thousands of Palestinians who have died during Israel’s counterattack. In March, she was one of the earliest high-profile leaders in the administration to call for an immediate temporary cease-fire in March. She also delivered the sharpest rebuke against Israel’s handling of aid flows into Gaza and described the conflict as a “humanitarian catastrophe” for innocent civilians. And privately, she has told Biden and other top officials that the administration needed to take a stronger stance against Netanyahu and focus on a long-term peace to the decades-long conflict, people familiar with her remarks have previously told POLITICO.

Kamala has also declined to preside over the upcoming session of Congress that Netanyahu is speaking at, on invitation by Republicans. She wasn't scheduled to before this, but I think declining now is a clear indicator that her foreign policy will not include the broad support we saw from Joe.

Climte Change: Honestly, the Build Back Better bill was so fucking substantial and incredible I think Kamala would be hard-pressed to do much more. I think Kamala needs to have a solid response ready to the recent Supreme Court decision overturning Chevron, which is the biggest threat to the EPA and other agencies in our lifetimes. (Trump, by the way, would abolish the EPA and the vast majority of environmental protections.)

Student debt relief: She was more progressive earlier, and I expect we'll see many of Joe's relief packages continue expanding.

Similarly:

Free college: Kamala's in full support. I understand Joe's position that students from wealthy families should pay their own way, but I also know from experience that students from wealthy family not immune to financial abuse by controlling parents.

Trade: this is actually a great one to know, because Kamala's hesitance on these trade agreements are related to a) environmental concerns, and b) outsourcing American jobs. Republicans love to lose their shit over outsourcing American jobs. Here's more significance in the trade sphere:

This is going to be a HUGE talking point for your conservative-leaning relatives. Business leaders do not want Trump in office, because the agenda laid out in Project 2025 will make it harder for them to do business - it will make it harder for them to attract global talent, costlier to import and export, and stunt economic growth. Do you know that "undecided" voter who votes red for "fiscal responsibility?" This your talking point. Kamala's platform spends, but in such a way that it will stimulate economic growth and solidify the US as a business leader worldwide.

Artificial Intelligence: I'll let Kamala speak for herself.

“History has shown, in the absence of regulation and strong government oversight, some technology companies choose to prioritize profit over the wellbeing of their customers, the safety of our communities, and the stability of our democracies,” Harris said during her visit to the U.K. for November’s AI Safety Summit.  Last July, during the early days of the White House’s mobilization on AI policy, Harris led a meeting among civil rights, labor and consumer protection groups where she rejected the “false choice” between promoting innovation and protecting the public.

The article also talks about data privacy, where Kamala and Joe are very similar, and animal welfare. Historically, Kamala defended animal welfare protections in CA, but remember that as Attorney General, Kamala's job was to defend the law no matter what her personal feelings were. Biden made some strides here, but many will agree not enough - I think this is a place where Kamala has to tread very carefully because progressives are in favor of more stringent animal welfare protections, but agricultural and rural voters are already a demographic inclined to view progressive agendas negatively, feeling forgotten, misunderstood, and passed over in favor of large cities. It's definitely a weakness for the Dems so I wouldn't expect to hear much about animal welfare as a voting issue.

IN SUM

I'm very happy to vote FOR Kamala, not just against Trump. I think she stands to take stronger action on abortion, stronger action on Israel and Gaza, stronger action on college and student debt relief. I think she'll continue work inherited on environmental protections and infrastructure. I think she will do more to protect LGBTQ+ individuals and unions, as well as standing strong on disability reform and criminal justice reform (yes, I know she was a prosecutor, and I also know that she worked on several important CJ reforms during her time as AG - here's an article about her progressive record as DA).

Remember, there's no such thing as a protest vote. The only people who benefit by third-party voting or choosing not to vote are the far-right.

[reasonsforhope]

"New York City officials have agreed to restore more than $111 million in funding to libraries and cultural institutions, the City Council announced Thursday [June 27, 2024].

The agreement is a victory for residents and organizations who had been pushing back for months against budget cuts in the nation’s largest city and one of the world’s foremost cultural capitals.

In November, the city announced it would cut the budget of the New York Public libraries by $58.3 million in fiscal year 2025, and slash the budget for other cultural institutions, including the Bronx Zoo and Carnegie Hall, by $53 million. The new deal reverses those cuts, and is set to be finalized in a City Council vote Sunday...

“Our arts and cultural institutions and libraries are foundational pillars of our city, and New Yorkers depend on their services every day,” said New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, thanking the mayor’s administration for reaching the deal. “The Council has consistently championed funding restorations for these institutions as a top priority, and we’re proud to reach an agreement with Mayor Adams and the administration to successfully secure these critical investments for them in the city budget.”

The news was received with collective approval from New York institutions that had been forced to cut hours and public access due to lack of funding.

“The Museum of the City of New York is delighted to learn of the restoration of cuts to the cultural sector,” the museum’s president Stephanie Hill Wilchfort told CNN in a statement.

“This support makes it possible for MCNY to be open seven days a week, starting on July 1,” said Wilchfort, who serves as Executive Vice Chair of the Cultural Institutions Group, a coalition of 34 non-profit organizations such as the city’s museums, gardens, and arts centers. “As such, the Museum’s exhibitions exploring history, popular culture, and art will be open to the public on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for the first time since the pandemic. City support also allows the Museum to operate as a cooling center, open at no charge to anyone who seeks relief from warm weather.”

The city’s three public library systems — New York, Queens, and Brooklyn — issued a joint statement thanking the administration, the city council and New York residents, who overwhelmingly supported the campaign to restore library budgets. More than 174,000 people sent letters to City Hall in support of the “No Cuts to Libraries!” campaign since the cuts were announced in November [2023].

“This funding will allow us to resume seven-day service, a priority for many New Yorkers,” the libraries said in a statement shared with CNN. “We expect that service to begin in the coming weeks, bringing our branches back to the same hours of operation prior to the November 2023 cuts. The funding also allows us to continue universal six-day service, which New Yorkers have enjoyed for nearly a decade.”

-via CNN, June 28, 2024

[probablyasocialecologist]

Adopting rightwing policies on issues such as immigration and the economy does not help centre-left parties win votes, according to new analysis of European electoral and polling data. Faced with a 20-year decline in their vote share, accompanied by rising support for the right, far right and sometimes the far left, social democratic parties across Europe have increasingly sought salvation by moving towards the political centre. However the analysis, published on Wednesday, shows that centre-left parties promising, for example, to be tough on immigration or unrelenting on public spending are both unlikely to attract potential voters on the right, and risk alienating existing progressive supporters.

[...]

One of the key lessons was that “trying to imitate rightwing positions is just not a successful strategy for the left”, he said. Two studies in particular, looking at so-called welfare chauvinism and fiscal policy, illustrated the point, the researchers said. Björn Bremer of the Central European University in Vienna said a survey in Spain, Italy, the UK and Germany and larger datasets from 12 EU countries showed that since the financial crisis of 2008, “fiscal orthodoxy” had been a vote loser for the centre left. “Social democratic parties that have backed austerity fail to win the support of voters worried about public debt, and lose the backing of those who oppose austerity,” Bremer said. “Centre-left parties that actually impose austerity lose votes.”

[...]

The data strongly suggests centre-left parties can build a coalition of voters who believe a strong welfare state, effective public services and real investment, for example in the green transition, are essential,” Bremer said. “But doing the opposite – offering a contradictory programme that promotes austerity but promises to protect public services and the welfare state, and hoping voters will swallow such fairytales – failed in the 2010s, and is likely to fail again.” Similarly, said Matthias Enggist of the University of Lausanne, analysis of data from eight European countries showed no evidence that welfare chauvinism – broadly, restricting immigrants’ access to welfare – was a successful strategy for the left.