Political Discussion

nolalady said:
So if I add up my mortgage, bills, medical spending, child spending, etc. why can't I claim losses and get my taxes deferred?
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Even worse. I had those losses 5 years ago but you know I decided to roll a bit of them over for each of the following number of years to get the maximum tax evasion benefit.

It’s sickening, as someone who feels that they should be facing a windfall tax off the back of them profiting from a pandemic to see them paying zero is just deflating on every level.
 
I don't think we discussed this yet, but the results of the 2020 census are in.

It it's painting a very clear picture that the GOP will have the advantage in 2022.

Blue states are losing the most seats while Red states are picking up the most seats.

The following states are each losing 1 seat in the house of representatives.
  • California
  • Illinois
  • Michigan
  • New York
  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • West Virginia
The following states are each picking up a seat with the exception of Texas which is picking up two seats.
  • Texas
  • Colorado
  • Florida
  • Montana
  • North Carolina
  • Oregon

With democrats only holding on to the majority in the house by single digits, these shifts in seats have a very good chance of shifting the majority party in 2022. And this is without considering how all the voter suppression bills being passed this year will have an effect on the election results.

As for the swing states listed, if the Republican party is in control at the state level odds are good it's blue seats that will be cut when they redraw lines.
 
RenegadeMonster said:
I don't think we discussed this yet, but the results of the 2020 census are in.

It it's painting a very clear picture that the GOP will have the advantage in 2022.

Blue states are losing the most seats while Red states are picking up the most seats.

The following states are each losing 1 seat in the house of representatives.
  • California
  • Illinois
  • Michigan
  • New York
  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • West Virginia
The following states are each picking up a seat with the exception of Texas which is picking up two seats.
  • Texas
  • Colorado
  • Florida
  • Montana
  • North Carolina
  • Oregon

With democrats only holding on to the majority in the house by single digits, these shifts in seats have a very good chance of shifting the majority party in 2022. And this is without considering how all the voter suppression bills being passed this year will have an effect on the election results.

As for the swing states listed, if the Republican party is in control at the state level odds are good it's blue seats that will be cut when they redraw lines.
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But, we've got to ask exactly who is being added to places like Colorado, and Oregon where legalization happened very early. Then we have to look at places like Florida, Texas and North Carolina that are picking up a lot of millenials because of decent priced housing near jobs that pay decently. It will be interesting to see how they draw the districts--hopefully without too much jerrymandering--and see how many of those newly added seats flip blue.
 
How would NC look after the added seat? A 10-3 split is still 13 seats. There will be an additional seat in the 2022 election. So would the goal then be 11-3 split?
 
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This talk about gerrymandering has started to get me worried. While we haven't heard much about it in the news as of yet, just record numbers of voter suppression bills which have a more immediate effect. It does appear that after the SCOTUS cleared the way for gerrymandering we will also see a record number of districts redrawn following the 2020 election. They are setting them self up to comfortably control both the house and senate.
 
Former president Bush released his a book, and with that spoke to the press and answered questions about the current state of the Republican party. Something he has largely been silent on.

Some key things mentioned I find fassinating are:
  • Bush would be considered unelectable if he ran for governor of Texas today.
  • Bush would be considered unelectable if he ran for president today.
The values and policies of the republican party and their base have shifted so far since the time Bush was president a little less than 15 years ago. Today Bush would not reflect the values and policies that other republican elective officials have and their base are looking for. He would be considered "too liberal". I would have never believed in that being possible 15 years ago.

Bush also commented that the Republican Party does not have a future if they stand for "White Anglo-Saxon Protestantism".
 
apnews.com

Vermont stopped online unemployment claims after fraud spike

The Vermont Department of Labor stopped accepting new online applications for unemployment benefits last week after its system was receiving nearly 3,000 new claims a day, more than 90% of them fraudulent, Labor Commissioner Michael Harrington said Monday.
apnews.com apnews.com

I also heard from a small business owner that he received 3 unemployment claims today. One of them was for himself. Either he fired himself and didn't know about it or there has been some kind of fraud. Turns out all 3 unemployment claims received against his business today were fraudulent.

Unemployment fraud across the nation is skyrocketing.

It should be something on your radar to watch out for, because come tax season next year, if someone stole your identity and committed unemployment fraud you could end up with a massive tax bill which may take months to straighten out. People are still trying to get statis to correct tax forms from the 2020 tax season so that the IRS does not say they owe taxes. Meanwhile, until that happens, the IRS considers the money owed and is coming after people who they say owe it.
 
I'm not sure that any comment I can make would be adequately snarky enough, so I'll just go with a gif.




In perhaps the most startling finding, nearly half (44%) of respondents in the 53 countries surveyed are concerned that the US threatens democracy in their country; fear of Chinese influence is by contrast 38%, and fear of Russian influence is lowest at 28%. The findings may in part reflect views on US comparative power, but they show neither the US, nor the G7, can simply assume the mantle of defenders of democracy.

Since last year, the perception of US influence as a threat to democracy around the world has increased significantly, from a net opinion of +6 to a net opinion of +14. This increase is particularly high in Germany (+20) and China (+16).

The countries still overwhelmingly negative about US influence are Russia and China, followed by European democracies.

The study shows an attachment to democracy globally, with 81% of people around the world saying that it is important to have democracy in their country. Only a little more than half (53%) say their country is actually democratic today – even in democracies.

www.theguardian.com

US seen as bigger threat to democracy than Russia or China, global poll finds

Belief in importance of democracy high in 53 sampled countries but inequality and big tech companies seen as biggest threats
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
 
Speaking of being a threat to democracy, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis just signed a very controversial and restrictive voting bill into law this morning in Florida.

I got a kick out of this:

Local media outlets told CNN that they were not allowed to go inside the morning signing event and that it was a Fox News exclusive.
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Also, I love how they. can spin it to make it sound like the bill is actually good and a step forward to our democracy.

"Me signing this bill says: Florida, your vote counts, your vote is going to be cast with integrity and transparency and this is a great place for democracy," DeSantis said after signing the bill.
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Several lawsuits have already been filed today against this bill. This bill targets Florida's Black Voters, Latino Voters and voters with disabilities.
 
RenegadeMonster said:


Glad to see golf cart paths in the south get more funding and development than pedestrians and cyclists get.
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Those paths are used by pedestrians and cyclists along with the carts. They are also low power usage electric vehicles that apparently in that town are extremely popular. How many cars does that keep off the road? Just look at that high school parking lot. While it’s not uncommon and a lot of small communities down here to see people using golf carts or electric side-by-side ‘s, at the same time that community is really unique and the sheer volume of carts used and its cart roadway system.

So why exactly are you mad about it?
 
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